NEA Mandates and Structures

Working Group on Fuel Cycle Safety (WGFCS)

Chair(s):	Neil BLUNDELL, United Kingdom	Secretary:	Vesselina RANGUELOVA (vesselina.ranguelova@oecd-nea.org)
Vice-Chair(s):	Frédéric LEDROIT, 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
Date of creation:	31 October 1976
End of mandate:	31 December 2023

Mandate (Document reference):

Summary Record of the 4^th Meeting of the Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI) [SEN/SIN(76)37]
Summary Record of the 6^th Meeting of the Working Group on Fuel Cycle Safety (WGFCS) [SEN/SIN(80)62]
Summary Record of the 15^th Meeting of the CSNI [SEN/SIN(87)68]
NEA Committee Mandates and Structures [NEA/NE(2006)8)]. Note: includes change of name.
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^th Meeting 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

Scope and Objectives

The nuclear fuel cycle comprises a number of interrelated activities including uranium mining and milling; uranium refining and conversion to uranium hexafluoride; uranium enrichment; fuel fabrication and storage (including MOX fuel); spent fuel storage; spent fuel reprocessing; decommissioning of nuclear facilities; radioactive waste management and disposal options (including for spent fuel) and the research and demonstration facilities that support these activities.

Reactor operation and long-term management of radioactive waste are widely covered in several other NEA bodies, and therefore, these aspects are not addressed by the WGFCS. Only safety aspects associated with the long and medium-term storing of spent fuel and high-level waste are addressed by the WGFCS. Safety impacts on Fuel Cycle Facilities (FCF) from the transportation of nuclear material are included in the work of the WGFCS. Other spent fuel and high-level waste management issues are co-ordinated by the Radioactive Waste Management Committee (RWMC).

The objective of the Working Group on Fuel Cycle Safety (WGFCS) is to advance the understanding of relevant aspects of nuclear fuel cycle safety, from design to decommissioning in member countries.

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

Meet periodically to exchange information on relevant matters including licensing systems, safety philosophy and safety standards to improve mutual understanding, and to review the information from the Fuel Incident and Notification and Analyses System (FINAS) and other databases.
Indicate where further research is needed, review and prioritise safety issues, prepare state-of-the-art reports, hold workshops as appropriate and collaborate with other groups as necessary. Report to the Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI) and assist that Committee with its work. The programme of work of WGFCS will be approved by the CSNI.

To achieve this mandate, the WGFSC shall:

Constitute a forum for exchange of information and experiences of activities related to nuclear fuel cycle safety in NEA member countries and assess the lessons learnted and good practicses of FCFs in order to reach mutual understanding of design philosophy and principles, licensing systems and safety requirements related to FCFs.
Encourage and support WGFCS member countries to report their events in the FINAS database. In case of an event of common interest, to organise a specific forum to share lessons learnt and promote their implementation.
Identify new research and analysis targets, assess their priorities and prepare technical review reports of the different phases of the nuclear fuel cycle. In doing so, avoid duplication of effort or scope with other CSNI Working Groups, or with other international bodies.
With prior approval of the CSNI, collaborate with or assist the other CSNI Working Groups, NEA bodies or other international organisations.

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.