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Topical Issues Conference Recommends IAEA to Strengthen Nuclear Installation Safety Work

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Speakers and participants at the opening session of the 2017 International Conference on Topical Issues in Nuclear Installation Safety. (Photo: A. Evrensel/IAEA)

A major international conference on nuclear installation safety held in June 2017 requested further support by the IAEA in the implementation of the new safety requirements for nuclear installations, both those that already are in operation and new-build projects.

More than 300 participants from 48 Member States and five International Organisations took part in the IAEA International Conference on Topical Issues in Nuclear Installation Safety: Safety Demonstration of Advanced Water Cooled Nuclear Power Plants.

The conference, held from 6 to 9 June 2017 at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, covered safety assessment of advanced reactor designs, design safety principles, licensing of advanced reactor designs and safety reinforcement of existing installations. It formed part of a series of International Conferences on Topical Issues in Nuclear Installation Safety organized by the IAEA.

Conference participants’ recommendation that the IAEA facilitate the application of the new design safety requirements by Member States would “support the harmonisation of approaches and methods applied to nuclear power plants that are planned to be licensed and constructed in the near future,” said Conference President Petteri Tiippana, Director General of the Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority.

The Conference programme ranged from new reactor projects to nuclear power plants in operation. Of particular relevance was the participants’ discussion on their experiences and challenges of demonstrating the safety of nuclear power plants that are planned to be licensed and constructed in the near future, in particular those using water cooled reactors, including small and medium sized or modular reactors.

A high-level plenary titled Vienna Declaration on Nuclear Safety: Objectives, Challenges and Prospects featured discussions on how to implement in practice the principles in the 2015 declaration, which aims to strengthen work to prevent accidents with radiological consequences and mitigate such consequences should they occur.

“We now need Member States’ to adopt a bottom-up approach and share their experiences and practical approaches regarding safety improvements for existing nuclear power plants in the context of the Vienna Declaration,” Mr Tiippana said.

The conference recommended that IAEA collect both positive and negative regulatory and industry experiences and lessons for nuclear power programmes, including new-build projects, he said adding that participants encouraged the Agency to continue to provide fora for discussions among Member States to strengthen international cooperation and knowledge transfer.

IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Nuclear Safety and Security, Juan Carlos Lentijo, said the participants’ frank and open-minded exchange of views and experiences benefited the further enhancement of nuclear safety.

“The conference provided valuable insights on challenges and progress related to technical and scientific matters on topics such as innovative design features,” he said. "It also enhanced the understanding of how to meet new safety requirements, for example the practical elimination of early or large radioactive releases and the need for design for potential core-melt scenarios."

He noted that the wide variety of topics discussed demonstrated the broad interest of the global nuclear safety community, and the strong need for discussions such as those held during the Conference.

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