Global nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is scheduled to begin an in-depth operational safety review of two atomic power plants at Rawatbhata in Rajasthan on October 29.

It is the first such exercise in India after the Fukushima nuclear accident. The Operational Safety Review Team (OSART) of the IAEA will review programme and activities essential to operational safety at units 3 and 4 of the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS) between October 29 and November 15.

SS Bajaj, Chairman, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) told a leading news agency that in Delhi that basically, it is a peer review of safety status and operating practices done by a team of experts for the IAEA.

He said all nuclear plants had undergone a peer review earlier by international experts of the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO), but it is for the first time any nuclear plant is being subject to the OSART process.

Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Ratan Kumar Sinha said the OSART process would give the nuclear operator insight into its operational process.Both OSART and WANO are independent external reviews. It is more of a confidence-building exercise as experts of 10 different nations are involved in the review process, he said.

Sinha said the outcome of the WANO review is confidential, but the findings of the OSART process are in the public domain.