Regulatory Activities Section

The Section supports the IAEA Member States in achieving effective, independent and sustainable governmental, regulatory and safety frameworks for nuclear installations, based on the IAEA Safety Standards and peer reviews.

The aim of the Section’s work is to assist the Member States in developing a sound regulatory infrastructure, including an effective, independent regulatory body with sufficient resources and suitably qualified and competent staff to enable it to fulfil its regulatory responsibilities and functions, and to establish, sustain and continuously improve leadership and management for safety.

The Section develops Safety Standards and associated guidance publications based on state-of-the-art regulatory knowledge and experience drawn from regulators from across the world. These form the basis for the IAEA’s regulatory peer review services and are used to support regulatory competence-building and management, including the development of training courses for regulators. Among the IAEA Safety Standards, the General Safety Requirements provides Member States with a comprehensive set of reference requirements to help them establish a robust regulatory framework.

The Section coordinates the implementation of the IAEA’s Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) programme for nuclear installations, and develops tools and methodologies to support Member States in self-assessing and continuously enhancing their regulatory infrastructure for safety. Member States can request the Section to coordinate seminars, workshops and training courses in response to issues identified during review missions or through self-assessments.

The IAEA has made available to Member States embarking on a new nuclear power programme, or enlarging an existing one, a safety guide that serves as a road map for applying IAEA Safety Standards during the early phases of a nuclear development programme. The Section also developed the IRIS tool and methodology to assist these countries in assessing the status of their national regulatory infrastructure against the Safety Standards.

The Section supports learning and continuous improvement of the regulatory infrastructures of countries with existing nuclear power programmes by identifying issues and challenges through regulatory networks and cooperation forums, and by coordinating activities such as conferences, workshops, expert missions and seminars.  It also supports the contracting parties of the Convention on Nuclear Safety to organize and conduct its review meetings and other activities connected with its functioning.

“The Section provides support to Member States in building and sustaining capacity in nuclear safety. Learn more about the Section's work in this area.”

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