NEA Mandates and Structures

Working Group on Analysis and Management of Accidents (WGAMA)

Chair(s):	Hideo NAKAMURA, Japan	Secretary:	Martina ADORNI (martina.adorni@oecd-nea.org)
Vice-Chair(s):	Ahmed BENTAIB, France
Member(s):	All NEA member countries^*
	Russia (Suspended*)
	^*Russian Federation suspended pursuant to a decision of the OECD Council.
Full participant(s):	European Commission Under the NEA Statute
Participant(s):	India
Observer(s)(International Organisation):	International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) By agreement Union of the Electricity Industry (EURELECTRIC)
Date of creation:	31 December 1999
End of mandate:	31 December 2023

Mandate (Document reference):

Summary Record of the 28^th Meeting of the Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI) [NEA/SEN/SIN(2001)1]
CSNI Operating Plan (2006-2009) [NEA/CSNI/R(2007)7]
Summary Record of the 40^th Meeting of the CSNI [NEA/SEN/SIN(2007)1]
Summary Record of the 47^th Meeting of the CSNI [NEA/SEN/SIN(2010)2]
CSNI Operating Plan (2011-2016) [NEA/CSNI/R(2011)2]
Summary Record of the 61^st Meeting of the CSNI [NEA/SEN/SIN(2017)2]
CSNI Operating Plan and Guidelines (2017-2022) [NEA/CSNI/R(2017)17]
Summary Record of the 68^thMeeting of the CSNI [NEA/SEN/SIN(2020)3]
CSNI Operating Plan and Guidelines (2017-2022) [NEA/CSNI/R(2017)17/REV1]
Participant Status of India in the CSNI and its subsidiary bodies: 2018 Update of the NEA Participation Plan [NEA/NE(2018)8], Summary of Decisions taken at the 137th Session of the Steering Committee [NEA/SUM/DEC(2018)2] and official letter received from India on 31 October 2019 confirming its acceptance of Participant Status in the CSNI and its subsidiary bodies

Mandate (Document extract):

Extract from document NEA/CSNI/R(2017)17/REV1

Mandate

Scope and Objectives

The Working Group on the Analysis and Management of Accidents (WGAMA) shall be responsible for activities related to potential accidental situations in nuclear power plants, including the following technical areas: reactor coolant system thermal-hydraulics; design-basis accidents; pre-core melt conditions and progression of accidents and in-vessel phenomena; coolability of over-heated cores; ex-vessel corium interaction with coolant and structures; in-containment combustible gas generation, distribution and potential combustion; physical-chemical behaviour of radioactive species in the primary circuit and the containment; and source term. The activities will mainly focus on existing reactors, but will also have application for some advanced reactor designs. Priority setting will be based on established CSNI criteria and in particular on safety significance and risk and uncertainty considerations.

The WGAMA objective is to assess and, where necessary, strengthen the technical basis needed for the prevention, mitigation and management of potential accidents in nuclear power plants, and to facilitate international convergence on safety issues and accident management analyses and strategies.

In order to fulfil this objective, the Working Group shall:

Exchange technical experience and information relevant for resolving current or emerging safety issues.
Promote the development of phenomena-based models and codes used for the safety analysis, including the performance of benchmarking exercises.
Assess the state of knowledge in areas relevant for the accident analysis.
Where needed, promote research activities aimed to improve such understanding, while supporting the maintenance of expertise and infrastructure in nuclear safety research.

The Working Group shall report to the Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI) and assist that Committee with its work. The programme will be carried out by small task groups, each set up for performing a specific programme activity under the WGAMA supervision. The output of the Working Group will consist of state-of-the-art reports and other technical reports, workshops and conferences and related proceedings, benchmarking exercises and joint research proposals.

The Working Group will aim to provide answers as requested by the Committee on Nuclear Regulatory Activities (CNRA), the CSNI and member countries and will co-ordinate its work with other NEA bodies, notably with the Working Group on Risk Assessment (WGRISK) for priority setting and potential accident sequences, the Working Group on Operating Experience (WGOE) for emerging issues, the Working Group on Integrity and Ageing of Components and Structures (WGIAGE) for ageing and structure integrity evaluation, the Working Group on Fuel Safety (WGFS) for issues related to fuel safety, and the Working Group on Human and Organisational Factors (WGHOF) for human and organisational aspects of accident management. The WGAMA will also work in co-ordination with the Nuclear Science Committee (NSC) on scientific items such as advanced neutronic and thermal-hydraulic methods. Interaction with joint projects will be strengthened as recommended in the CSNI Operating Plan and Guidelines.

Interactions

The NEA has established Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with a number of organiszations – e.g. COG, CRIEPI, EPRI and WANO – to promote international collaboration, particularly in the area of nuclear safety. Accordingly, representatives from these organiszations can be invited to participate in the activities of CSNI working groups, consistent with the MOUs, to co-ordinate their work and to avoid unnecessary duplication.

The CSNI sponsors a number of joint safety research projects and expects that the CSNI working groups will promote technical exchanges with relevant projects, and provide technical support as appropriate.

Deliverables

The deliverables of the CSNI and its working groups are technical reports, proceedings of seminars or workshops, final summary reports from joint projects, state-of-the-art reports, and technical or collective opinion papers.