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2009 Look Ahead: Nuclear Prospects, Transitions

Staff Report Staff Report

January 2009

• Nominations for the post of IAEA Director General are due to the IAEA Board, which is considering candidates for selection by mid-2009.



• Rising demands for freshwater resources for food and energy production frame an international conference in India sponsored by the IAEA.



• Global leaders including IAEA Director General ElBaradei meet in Davos at the World Economic Forum, where the world financial crisis and economic growth are top themes.



• Ghana kicks off a series of IAEA regional seminars on the handling of information related to nuclear trafficking.



• In the United Arab Emirates, energy, environmental, and governmental leaders meet at the World Future Energy Summit, where nuclear prospects are part of debates.

February

• At a conference in Spain, international experts aim to lower chances of uncontrolled radioactive sources ending up in scrapyards.



• Scientists review IAEA-supported research on exposure to toxic elements of women of childbearing age in developing countries.



• Iraqi and other experts receive training in Australia as part of international support to an IAEA nuclear decommissioning project in Iraq.



• The IAEA joins to support World Cancer Day on 4 February, through a global partnership and technical projects to fight the disease.



• Nuclear communicators from Europe and other regions meet in Edinburgh, Scotland, at the European Nuclear Society´s conference on public information.

March

• Starting 2 March in Vienna, the IAEA Board meets on issues of nuclear safeguards, safety, and technology.



• The premier international symposium on nuclear waste brings together technical and industry experts in Phoenix, Arizona.



• At the IAEA and elsewhere, the world marks International Women´s Day on 8 March.



• In Istanbul, the 5th World Water Forum opens on 16 March.



• Special events highlight World Water Day 22 March, this year focusing on transboundary lake and river basins that cover nearly half of the Earth´s land.



• Global efforts to strengthen the security of nuclear and radiological materials take centre stage at the International Symposium on Nuclear Security in Vienna.



• The 5th academic course on nuclear safeguards and non-proliferation opens in Italy, organized by the IAEA and European Safeguards Research and Development Association.

April

• Issues of energy security, climate change, and electricity costs frame themes at the International Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Energy in the 21st Century, held in Beijing, China.



• The economic competitiveness of the nuclear fuel cycle and nuclear energy are key topics at the World Nuclear Fuel Cycle 2009 sessions in Sydney, Australia.



• Medical authorities review technological advances in radiation oncology for cancer treatment, especially in poorer countries, at an international symposium in Vienna.



• The IAEA´s programme and budget is reviewed by a committee of the Agency´s Board.



• The IAEA and US Department of Energy host an international training course on the physical protection of nuclear material and nuclear facilities.



• In France, technical experts in radioactive waste management meet on the IAEA´s centres of excellence network.

May

• The IAEA hosts the 3rd review of the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel and Radioactive Waste Management, which has 46 contracting parties.



• The run-up to the next review conference of the global Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty continues at preparatory meetings in New York starting 4 May.



• Scientists review advances in using particle accelerators for strategic and applied research, and applications in fields of safety and security, environmental protection, and industry.



• Systems for desalting seawater are technically reviewed at a workshop of the IAEA and International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy.



• The United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation holds its 57th session in Vienna.

June

• Kazakhstan hosts an environmental conference on remediating lands contaminated with residues of radioactive materials.



• The IAEA Board´s mid-year meetings open in early June in Vienna.



• Risks and opportunities of the "livestock revolution" in agriculture are reviewed in Vienna by scientists and policymakers at an FAO/IAEA symposium.



• Scientists, geologists, engineers, and nuclear power operators join to assess the changing dynamics of uranium and the nuclear fuel cycle.



• The prospects for an Integrated Energy Agenda Beyond 2020 are debated in Vienna, Austria. The event is co-organised by the IAEA, the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

July

• The 2009 Summer Institute of the World Nuclear University opens at the University of Oxford in England.



• The annual meeting of the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management opens in Arizona, USA.



• Meeting in Canada, scientists present advances in the production and use of radiopharmaceuticals in medicine.

August

• The IAEA convenes electronic engineers and scientists to improve training in nuclear instrumentation for applications of science and technology.



• The annual summer session at the International School of Nuclear Law takes place in Montpellier, France.

September

• The IAEA General Conference of Member States meets in Vienna starting 14 September, preceded by meetings of the Agency´s Board the week before.



• The World Nuclear Association opens its annual symposium in London.



• The 2009 Workshop of the School of Nuclear Knowledge Management opens at the ICTP in Italy.

October

• Specialists review the design and development of water-cooled nuclear plants to help meet this century´s electricity demands.



• Scientists at laboratories that use nuclear techniques to monitor pollution, among other applications, examine ways to improve quality assurance.

November

• The IAEA Board´s Committee for Technical Cooperation meets at sessions starting 23 November. The full IAEA Board´s meeting starts 26 November.



• Research results are reviewed on the use of neutron-based techniques for detecting explosives and illicit materials.



• The International Nuclear Safety Group, an advisory body to the IAEA, meets in Vienna.

December 2009

• In Vienna, the International Conference on Fast Reactors targets future directions of nuclear power.



• In South Africa, an IAEA conference focuses on effective systems of nuclear regulation, building upon 2006 sessions.



• In Copenhagen, world governmental leaders meet at the UN Conference on Climate Change to set the course beyond the Kyoto Protocol to combat CO₂ emissions.

Keep informed by visiting www.IAEA.org and the meetings pages.