Trends towards Sustainability in the Nuclear Fuel Cycle
Welcome to the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency
The Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) is a specialised agency within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), an intergovernmental organisation of industrialised countries, based in Paris, France. More...
Press releases and news
NEA meets with Japanese officials to discuss nuclear safety regulatory organisations
On 17-18 January 2012, an NEA team of international experts met in Tokyo with members of the Japanese Advisory Committee for Prevention of Nuclear Accidents and the special Japanese Task Force for the Reform of Nuclear Safety Regulations and Organisations to foster increased understanding of various national regulatory organisations and approaches to regulatory oversight of nuclear power facilities. Experts from Japan, France, Korea, the United Kingdom, the United States, the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) participated in an experts’ meeting on concepts and characteristics important to regulatory organisations and an international public workshop on nuclear safety regulation. Participants discussed different approaches to reforming areas recommended by the Advisory Committee, such as those concerning independence, regulatory oversight, crisis management, human resources and development, new safety regulations, transparency and international aspects for regulatory organisations. Presentations are available on the NEA Fukushima information exchange page.
Webcast: NEA organises peer review of Swedish spent fuel repository
At the request of the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority (SSM), the NEA organised a panel of international experts to perform an independent peer review of the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB)’s reporting of post-closure safety in the license application for the spent nuclear fuel repository to be constructed in Forsmark. The NEA peer review supports the independent review by the Swedish decision makers by providing an international reference regarding the maturity of SKB’s spent fuel disposal program vis-à-vis the best practices in the area of long-term nuclear safety and radiation protection. Public hearings were held on 12, 13 and 15 December in which the NEA panel posed questions to SKB representatives. On 16 December, the NEA expert panel presented its preliminary conclusions on the peer review. Watch the webcast of the hearings and preliminary conclusions. The final review report is expected in May 2012.
New publications and reports
Trends towards Sustainability in the Nuclear Fuel Cycle
Interest in expanding nuclear power to cope with rising demand for energy and potential climate change places increased attention on the nuclear fuel cycle and whether significant moves are being taken towards ensuring sustainability over the long term. This report reviews developments in the fuel cycle over the past ten years, potential developments over the next decade and the outlook for the longer term. It analyses technological developments and government actions (both nationally and internationally) related to the fuel cycle, and examines these within a set of sustainability parameters in order to identify trends and to make recommendations for further actions.
Order from the OECD Online Bookshop | Executive summary
Reversibility and Retrievability (R&R) for the Deep Disposal of High-Level Radioactive Waste and Spent Fuel
Final Report of the NEA R&R Project (2007-2011)
Available online: English
NEA News
NEA News is the professional journal of the NEA, featuring substantive articles on the latest nuclear energy issues. Included in this issue:
- Carbon pricing and the competitiveness of nuclear power
- Fukushima: liability and compensation
- NEA international peer reviews of post-accident protection policy
- MDEP: producing results in a challenging time for nuclear power
Available online: English
