Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen,
First, let me thank Chairman Klein, his fellow Commissioners and the staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for this opportunity to address such a broad and distinguished audience of nuclear professionals. I have been deeply impressed by the extensive scale of the meeting, the high quality and the international contents of the discussion since this morning. My remarks this afternoon will focus on the International Atomic Energy Agency´s safety and security activities in the context of global trends, issues and challenges. In considering the future of the IAEA´s activities, I am especially encouraged by the statements of President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton regarding U.S. support and leadership for the important work of the IAEA and its growing responsibilities.
Global Trends, Issues and Challenges
The IAEA, in its role as a leading organization for promoting international cooperation among its Member States, is in a unique position to observe global trends, issues and challenges in nuclear safety and security through a wide variety of activities related to the establishment of safety standards and security guidelines and their use. One particularly important opportunity is through the Convention on Nuclear Safety, which obliges the Contracting Parties to submit their country reports for international peer review.
On the whole, the IAEA believes that the international nuclear community has achieved a high level of safety performance. Nevertheless and as often noted by the IAEA Director General, "safety should always be considered a work in progress."
Today, there is much interest in new nuclear power programmes and the rapid expansion of existing programmes. Nearly 70 countries are considering or have expressed interest in developing nuclear power programmes. Many pundits refer to this renewed interest as a "nuclear renaissance." I, on the other hand, view this reality as a Vita Nova, or new life, because the nuclear community needs new ideas and innovative thinking to address new challenges, rather than a simple revival of the "good old days." This perception of a Vita Nova is particularly relevant for new entrant countries and in Asia where significant nuclear power development has continued for the last two decades.
Today´s nuclear business, activities and challenges, as was mentioned by Chairman Klein and Commissioner Lyons this morning, are increasingly multinational and global in nature, and no longer confined to the borders of one country. To the contrary, a nuclear activity in one country is likely to transcend national borders to involve governments, non-governmental organizations, vendors and the public media from many countries. This fact will continue to present challenges for the international nuclear community to address, ranging from the limited supply of major reactor components and trans-border emergency response to managing cultural diversities. As an example, you may have read about the Finnish EPR construction experience and the challenges posed by multicultural and multilingual subcontractors and construction crews. Such multinational complexities in supply and impact chains require improved communication, enhanced cooperation and appropriate oversight by vendors, operators and regulators to ensure that product quality and organizational competence are maintained.
The opportunities and challenges of today have indeed strengthened the level of international cooperation towards the prevention of another serious accident or terrorist event and the coordination of international response should it occur. In this regard, I would like to share with you the IAEA´s key areas of focus for continuously improving nuclear safety and security, and the further promotion of effective international cooperation.
IAEA´s Role in Nuclear Safety and Security
Before I discuss these key areas, let me start with some general background about the IAEA´s work in nuclear safety and security. The IAEA facilitates and promotes international cooperation among its Member States to develop and effectively use high quality safety standards and security guidelines. At the request of its Member States, the IAEA also provides various peer reviews, advisory services and training events based on these standards and guidelines. In addition, the IAEA is the depository of important legally-binding international safety and security Conventions and other non-binding international instruments.
IAEA Key Areas of Focus for Worldwide Nuclear Safety and Security
The IAEA´s first key area of focus is with the safety and security of existing nuclear facilities and activities. As you know, a serious safety or security event in one corner of the world can have lasting implications in another and diminish the confidence and support needed to introduce a new nuclear programme or expand an existing one.
Through experience, it is widely shared that self-assessment and peer review activities are valuable tools to help ensure high levels of safety and security performance. In fact, these tools are becoming almost mandatory for European Union Member States, as noted in a newly proposed directive by the European Commission. The IAEA´s Integrated Regulatory Review Service (or IRRS) and the Operational Safety Review Team (or OSART) are two of the best-known peer review services that the Agency provides for its Member States. U.S. nuclear power plants have hosted six OSART missions since 1987. These missions have been highly valued by the associated nuclear facility and the participating experts. I am very pleased that the U.S. has requested an IRRS peer review mission that will be carried out in 2010. I am confident that this will provide a precious mutual learning opportunity for the U.S. and the other participating countries.
While nuclear power plants have made peer reviews and self-assessment valuable common practices, many other nuclear applications throughout the world have not. The international nuclear community can certainly improve in this regard.
The IAEA´s second key area of focus is to support the safe and secure introduction of new nuclear power programmes. The collective knowledge from over five decades of worldwide experience is an invaluable resource for those considering nuclear power programmes for the first time. In this sense, the IAEA has been adapting and continuously improving its existing standards, guidelines and services to better meet the needs of those countries embarking on new nuclear power programmes. I am pleased to have the opportunity to participate on a related panel tomorrow regarding new entrant regulatory programmes, which will explore some of the issues and challenges in more detail.
Global Nuclear Safety and Security Regime
The IAEA´s third key area of focus is the continuous improvement of the global regime that is in place today as the worldwide international framework for nuclear safety and security. Please allow me to briefly explain this concept. In general terms, the global nuclear safety and security regime reflects the consensus that emerged following the Chernobyl accident in 1986, which underscored the need for international cooperation to prevent another serious nuclear accident. The terrorist attacks of 9/11 further underscored the similar need but in the areas of security and protection against terrorism.
More specifically, the global nuclear safety and security regime is comprised of the institutional, legal and technical frameworks for ensuring the safety and security of nuclear facilities and activities worldwide in a more internationally coordinated manner. At the foundation of this global regime are the strong national infrastructures of the countries that actively participate in the international efforts to improve nuclear safety and security. The major new elements of the global regime that have been in place since the mid-1990s are the international legal instruments, such as Conventions and Codes of Conduct. These elements work together in synergy with international standards, guidelines, peer reviews and knowledge networks to support and further strengthen existing national and regional infrastructures, thus helping to prevent another serious nuclear accident or terrorist incident, or to better respond to it should it occur. During the recent IAEA Board of Governors meeting last week, I was particularly inspired by the statements from many Member States, especially those countries who are major suppliers of nuclear technologies like the U.S., France and Japan, who strongly encouraged new entrant countries to become active participants in the global regime.
A specific issue of interest for the IAEA in improving the global regime is in maximizing the synergy between safety and security. The IAEA Fundamental Safety Principles already recognize that safety measures and security measures must be designed and implemented in an integrated manner so that security measures do not compromise safety and vice versa. The safety and security interface section of the U.S. NRC´s recent power reactor security rulemaking is a good example of improvement in this area.
Concluding Remarks
I hope that my discussion on some of the IAEA´s key areas of focus in nuclear safety and security has provided you with a sense of the variety and magnitude of the challenges faced by the international nuclear community. While I have only addressed a few particular areas, there are, of course, many other areas where international cooperation is necessary to improve worldwide nuclear safety and security, including, inter alia, emergency preparedness, radiation protection and uranium mining.
In conclusion, I do believe that worldwide nuclear safety performance has been praiseworthy. At the same time, I also believe that the need for vigilance, continuous improvement and new thinking is highlighted by new entrant nuclear power programmes, by the levelling off of safety performance indicators and by the multinational and global nature of today´s nuclear activities. The IAEA is committed to promoting international cooperation to help maintain a high level of nuclear safety and security and to continuously improve the global regime for this purpose.
The U.S. is indeed a leading player in today´s global nuclear safety and security regime, along with other countries with advanced nuclear power programmes. The nuclear activities of the U.S., including regulatory measures, in the coming years will, in many ways, help to define and shape the direction for overall global nuclear development, including new entrants. The IAEA appreciates the international efforts of the U.S. NRC under the leadership of Chairman Klein as was eloquently demonstrated this morning. In light of the very positive policy statements expressed by the new U.S. administration, I optimistically look forward to continued cooperation based on new visions for support and leadership from the U.S. Government as it embarks on its own period of change.
I thank you for your attention.