(Article updated: 23/12/2020)
Results and achievements in strengthening nuclear safety over the last decade and ways to further enhance safety will be the focus of the International Conference on a Decade of Progress after Fukushima-Daiichi: Building on the Lessons Learned to Further Strengthen Nuclear Safety, to be held in Vienna from 8 to 12 November 2021.
“Next year marks 10 years since the accident at the Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant following the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in March 2011. This conference will recap the important global efforts made since then to strengthen nuclear safety around the world. It will highlight the vital lessons learned, and our achievements as well as help identify future courses of action,” said IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi.“While many countries are looking at nuclear power in their effort to decarbonize their energy production, the safety-first principle is of paramount importance in the peaceful applications of this technology.”
“This conference will go beyond the technical and address broader issues including answering public concerns, addressing climate change and the engagement of future generations,” he added.
High level safety experts will discuss the implementations of the IAEA’s Action Plan on Nuclear Safety and the role of formal international undertakings such as the Convention on Nuclear Safety. Participants will also address initiatives to further strengthen regulatory oversight, accident management, human and organisational factors, radiation safety systems, radiation monitoring, post-accident recovery and enhancing international efforts and cooperation as well as providing clear and understandable messages to the general public and stakeholders.
“We will hold interactive discussions on the way forward: how to further foster safety culture, create robust institutions and generally optimise safety; how to earn public trust by listening, sharing information and being transparent; as well as how to generate optimism on the importance of nuclear safety for future generations,” said Mike Weightman, former Chief Inspector at the United Kingdom’s Office for Nuclear Regulation and President designate of the Conference.
The IAEA is hosting this event in cooperation with the International Labour Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World Health Organization, the World Meteorological Organisation, the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency and the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization.
See the conference web page for more details on the programme and procedures related to the conference.
