Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI)
Working Group on External Events (WGEV)
Workshop on Severe Weather and Storm Surge
18-20 November 2015
Issy-les-Moulineaux, France
Organisation and host
The Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI) Working Group on External Events (WGEV) held an international workshop on Severe Weather and Storm Surge. The workshop was hosted by the Nuclear Energy Agency from 18-20 November 2015, in Issy-les-Moulineaux, France. The workshop was planned for three days.
Objectives
Working under the mandate of the CSNI, the objectives of the WGEV are to improve the understanding and treatment of external hazards that would support the continued safety performance of nuclear installations, and to improve the effectiveness of regulatory practices in NEA member countries.
The objective of the workshop was to review and discuss current national regulatory approaches for the assessment of severe weather events and protection and technical methods for assessing risk and effectiveness of preventative measures.
Information obtained as a result of this workshop helped to provide understanding of key regulatory issues related to the characterisation and assessment of severe weather events and the determination of activities to address knowledge gaps.
Format and outline
The workshop included an opening session, three technical sessions devoted to presentations by participants on the topics drawn below and a closing session. The closing session summarised the discussions and developed conclusions and recommendations for possible further CSNI action.
The workshop focused on the following technical areas:
- regulatory objectives and approaches to accomplish objectives;
- severe weather assessment and societal impact (protecting people and infrastructure);
- informing the nuclear regulatory process through gap analysis.
All participants were expected to take part in the discussion and in the formulation of conclusions in the closing session.
Logistics and participation
Participants
As is customary with NEA workshops, participation was open to experts from regulatory authorities and their technical support organisations, research organisations, operating organisations, industry associations and observers from NEA member countries. The maximum number of attendees allowed was 70.
The meeting was also open to a small number of experts from partner countries.
Language
All presentations and discussions were in English, and good command of the English language was necessary to fully benefit from the workshop.
Workshop proceedings
In addition to the full technical papers, the workshop proceedings included the conclusions and recommendations based on the workshop presentations and discussions.
Location and accommodation
The workshop was organised by NEA, and was held at the NEA in Issy-les-Moulineaux, France. The NEA is located close to public transportation (metro, RER, and bus lines). More information can be found on www.oecd-nea.org/general/practical/.
Last reviewed: 21 November 2015