The NEA Working Group on Integrity and Ageing of Components and Structures (WGIAGE) held its 49th meeting and 31st subgroup meetings at the NEA on 2-6 March 2026. Around 80 international experts engaged in discussions on the ongoing and planned activities.
The Working Group’s three specialist subgroups focus on seismic engineering and integrity and ageing of metal structures and components, as well as of concrete structures.
A joint roundtable brought together members of the WGIAGE Seismic Engineering and the Concrete subgroups, creating a forum for cross‑disciplinary dialogue on nuclear structural safety. Participants shared national updates on seismic and concrete safety programmes, exchanged research findings and regulatory experiences, and highlighted ongoing challenges across both fields. The discussion also explored emerging technical themes, such as including ageing and durability of concrete structures, high‑frequency seismic effects, and approaches for beyond‑design‑basis events.
The WGIAGE Metal subgroup reviewed recent research progress and operating experience across key areas of metal component integrity. Nearly 40 technical presentations highlighted advances in long‑term operation and ageing management, stress corrosion cracking, irradiation effects on RPV internals, steam‑generator tube integrity, and developments in non-destructive evaluation (NDE) and probabilistic integrity assessment, among others.
One of the major achievements of WGIAGE in 2025 was the completion of the Status Report on Long‑Term Operation of Nuclear Power Plants Beyond 60 Years, published in January 2026. Several of the research topics identified in the report have already prompted new studies in multiple countries, underscoring its relevance and strategic value.
The group also elected Xinjian Duan (Canada) to serve as the new Chair and to lead WGIAGE into its next phase. Participants shared a common understanding that ageing management must be considered from the design stage of nuclear facilities, not only during operation.
With a renewed leadership team, WGIAGE expressed its commitment to expanding its scope from existing reactors to small modular and advanced reactor designs and to further strengthening international co-operation. The group pledged to intensify collaborative research efforts in support of global nuclear safety.
The WGIAGE operates under the auspices of the NEA Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI). It aims to advance the knowledge needed to ensure the integrity of systems, structures and components and provides guidance in dealing with challenges related to operating advanced and innovative nuclear power plants in a safe and sustainable way.
