NEA Monthly News Bulletin - February 2012

New at the NEA

NEA mission to the Russian Federation

NEA Director-General Luis Echávarri with ROSATOM Director General Sergey Kirienko

On 23-27 January, NEA Director-General Luis Echávarri led a fact-finding mission to Moscow to review the Russian Federation's application to join the Nuclear Energy Agency. Mr. Echávarri met with Mr. Denisov, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs; Mr. Kirienko, Director-General of Russia's nuclear energy corporation Rosatom and Mr. Kutin, Director-General of Russia's nuclear regulator Rostechnadzor to obtain information about the country's nuclear legislation, regulation, licensing standards, fuel cycle and energy policy. Mr. Echávarri and the NEA delegation also met with Prof. Bolchov, Director of IBRAE RAS, the nuclear safety institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and visited the National Research Centre (Kurchatov Institute) as well as the State Unitary Enterprise MosNPO Radon waste management facility. The Russian Federation has a long-standing relationship with the NEA; it was strengthened in 2007 with a joint declaration subsequent to which the Russian Federation became a regular observer in all NEA standing technical committees. The Russian Federation made an official request to join the NEA in October 2011. A recommendation on membership will be made during the next NEA Steering Committee meeting in April 2012 and a decision is expected to be made by the OECD Council in May 2012.


New publications

Nuclear Law Bulletin No. 88
Published twice a year, the Nuclear Law Bulletin features topical articles written by renowned legal experts, covers nuclear legislative developments worldwide and reports on relevant case law, bilateral and international agreements and regulatory activities of international organisations.

ISSN: 0304-341X, approximately 160 pages.

Disponible également en français.

Trends towards Sustainability in the Nuclear Fuel Cycle: Executive Summary
12 pages.


Nuclear safety and regulation

NEA discusses nuclear safety regulatory organisations with Japanese officials

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.

Senior regulators to discuss crisis communication challenges at NEA workshop in Spain

The NEA Committee on Nuclear Regulatory Activities (CNRA) will hold an International Workshop on Crisis Communication of Nuclear Regulatory Organisations on 9-10 May 2012 in Madrid, Spain. The workshop will bring together senior-level regulators and communicators from nuclear regulatory organisations (NRO), as well as communication stakeholders from civil society, who will share best practices in order to improve NRO crisis communications following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident. Participants will work to develop a common understanding of stakeholder expectations regarding crisis communication activities; to share practices of implementing and developing crisis communication in nuclear regulatory activities and to share experience of how the development of crisis communication impacts the regulator. The workshop will be hosted in collaboration with the Spanish Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear (CSN). Register for the event on the NEA website.


Radioactive waste management

Preparing for the first deep geological repositories

As more waste disposal programmes advance towards the implementation of geological repositories, it is important to share experience on construction and operational issues. In this respect, the NEA hosted a workshop on "Preparing for Construction and Operation of Geological Repositories – Challenges to the Regulators and the Implementers" on 25-27 January 2012.  More than 70 participants representing 14 countries and international organisations participated in this workshop, sharing experience in decision-making and public engagement in developing geological disposal.  Emerging issues in safety, licensing, constructing and operating a deep geological repository were discussed from the perspectives of both the regulator and the implementer. The proceedings and key findings from the workshop will be made available in mid-2012.


Nuclear law

Apply for the 12th session of the International School of Nuclear Law

The NEA is currently accepting applications for the 12th session of the International School of Nuclear Law (ISNL) which will take place on 27 August-7 September 2012. Established in 2001 by the NEA in co-operation with the University of Montpellier 1, the ISNL provides participants with a comprehensive understanding of the various legal issues relating to the safe, efficient and secure use of nuclear energy. To date, the ISNL has provided a unique educational opportunity to more than 600 graduate students and professionals from around the world. The ISNL programme has evolved over the last decade to address developments in nuclear law, thus providing a high-quality, intensive overview of a complex body of laws and legal regimes. Find out more about the ISNL on the NEA website. The application deadline is 31 March 2012.

Apply for the International Nuclear Law Essentials summer session

The five-day International Nuclear Law Essentials (INLE) course, which will take place on 4-8 June 2012, is an intensive and comprehensive course in international nuclear law designed to accommodate the needs and interests of lawyers, scientists, policy-makers, and managers working in either the public or private sector. The International Nuclear Law Essentials programme builds on the foundation of the annual International School of Nuclear Law that the NEA co-sponsors with the University of Montpellier 1. Find out more about the INLE and register on the NEA website.


Medical radioisotopes

Ensuring long-term, secure supply of medical radioisotopes

On 18-19 January, the NEA High-level Group on the Security of Supply of Medical Radioisotopes (HLG-MR) and key supply chain stakeholders held its first meeting under the new mandate to explore obstacles and possible solutions to implementing the policy approach previously developed by the HLG-MR to ensure long-term, secure supply of medical radioisotopes. Meeting participants recognised that key information needs to be further developed and shared to support the implementation of the policy approach, including an updated report on supply and demand forecasts. They agreed that NEA work should continue on determining the impacts on supply and costs of molybdenum-99/technetium-99m of converting to the use of low enriched uranium (LEU) targets, aligning with international non-proliferation goals while seeking to ensure reliable supplies. The group developed an action plan for its future work, which will include assessing progress made in implementing the HLG-MR policy approach; examining government options that encourage the use of LEU targets; releasing its full-cost recovery guidance document, developing a guidance document on outage reserve capacity and completing a joint publication with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on managing the waste from isotope production. The next meeting of the HLG-MR will be in July 2012.


Data Bank

NEA Data Bank newsletter

Computer program services

New computer programs available


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