Making Nuclear Power Safer
Initial Progress In Implementing 12-Point Action Plan
The Action Plan is a comprehensive program utilizing all nuclear safety tools to strengthen the global nuclear safety framework at the national, regional and international levels. (Photo Credit: D. Calma/IAEA)
Following the nuclear accident at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano dispatched an International Experts Fact-Finding Mission to the site of the accident, and convened a Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety in Vienna in June 2011. The Fact-Finding Mission delivered its report to the Ministerial Conference, which also adopted a Ministerial Declaration that requested the Director General to develop a draft Action Plan on Nuclear Safety. In September 2011, the Action Plan on Nuclear Safety was adopted by the IAEA's Board of Governors and subsequently unanimously endorsed by the IAEA General Conference. Developed in intensive consultation with Member States, the Action Plan is informed by advice from the IAEA's International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group (INSAG).
Work Plan
Immediately following the General Conference's endorsement, the Director General established a dedicated Nuclear Safety Action Team under the Deputy Director General of the Department of Nuclear Safety and Security to coordinate and assist all activities for the prompt and full implementation of the Action Plan. "By adopting the Action Plan on Nuclear Safety on 22 September, the IAEA General Conference took a historical step. This is the first time in the life of the Agency that its 151 Member States gather all nuclear safety tools in a comprehensive program to strengthen the global nuclear safety framework at the national, regional and international levels. The implementation of all these tools opens a new period in the quest for a continuous strengthening of nuclear safety worldwide. The IAEA, its 151 Member States, are at the heart of this work," said Deputy Director General Denis Flory.
The Nuclear Safety Action Team is developing the strategy to respond to the 12 major action items that are set out in the Plan. Led by Gustavo Caruso, the Nuclear Safety Action Team ensures coordination among all stakeholders and oversees the Action Plan's prompt implementation. In assessing the Action Plan, the Team categorized the 12 actions into 84 sub-actions, which they further divided into about 200 activities that will be implemented in the short, medium and long term. "A year from now we will be updating this Action Plan based upon the further lessons we will derive from the Fukushima Daiichi accident," Caruso said.
Initial Progress
The IAEA's 151 Member States and Secretariat are now implementing the Nuclear Safety Action Plan to make nuclear power production safer. The Agency's and Member States' work focuses on reviewing, improving and strengthening IAEA peer reviews and emergency preparedness and response; the effectiveness of national regulatory bodies and operating organizations; the IAEA Safety Standards and their implementation; the international legal framework's effectiveness; capacity building; transparency in communication and information dissemination; and nuclear safety research and development. Initial progress in the Action Plan's implementation includes an international expert fact-finding mission to Japan to assess remediation methods of large contaminated areas around TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, whose final report was issued on 15 November 2011. The methodology for assessing the safety vulnerabilities of a nuclear power plant will also be issued in November 2011.
Highlights
Among these activities, several highlights have emerged, such as developing a complementary safety assessment methodology or "stress test", for nuclear power plants as well as improving the IAEA safety peer reviews and encouraging Member States to voluntarily request these peer reviews. The end result of these activities is "to make nuclear safety stronger than before", said Caruso.
Working Together
Comprising an extensive work programme, the Action Plan requires concerted implementation by the IAEA's Secretariat, the Member States and all of the stakeholders responsible for nuclear safety. The IAEA's Senior Strategy Officer, Zef Mazi, said "the Action Plan's implementation will require the Member States' full cooperation and participation, as well as the involvement of many other stakeholders, each of whom must play their part to ensure that the measures agreed in the Action Plan are implemented fully and promptly". Mazi highlighted the IAEA Secretariat's role in promptly providing "the expert technical support and services that the Member States request to achieve the Action Plan's aims of strengthening the global nuclear safety framework".
The report on initial progress in the Action Plan's implementation is now available online as a pdf download.
Emergency preparedness and response
The IAEA Response Assistance Network, or RANET, and the Secretariat initiated a review of its capabilities and arrangements in the event of a nuclear or radiological emergency.
Strengthening national regulatory bodies
To help enhance the Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS), the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, in cooperation with the Secretariat, hosted a workshop on the lessons learned from IRRS missions. Held in Washington, D.C. from 26 to 28 October 2011, the senior regulators from 22 Member States concluded that IRRS missions are a powerful tool for regulatory improvement, disseminating good practices, increasing public confidence and initiating international exchange of experience. It was also noted that all IRRS reports have been made available to the public and that they will continue to be accessible through the Action Plan website. A Fukushima module was incorporated into the scope of IRRS missions to take account of the initial regulatory implications of the accident.
Strengthening operating organizations
The IAEA and the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) cooperate in pursuing their joint goal of maximizing the safety and reliability of nuclear power plants worldwide. While attending the WANO Biennial General Meeting in Shenzhen, China, in October 2011, the Director General welcomed greater WANO participation in IAEA activities, particularly in the area of the development of the IAEA Safety Standards, where WANO, as a representative of the operating organizations, is in a position to provide valuable input. He also stated that the two organizations should continue to exchange information regarding the results of their respective peer review activities, where confidentiality constraints permit, and improve the coordination of these missions to avoid scheduling WANO Peer Reviews and Agency OSART missions too close together.
Strengthening the IAEA Safety Standards
The Secretariat established a Safety Standards Review Task Force that developed a draft Safety Standards Action Plan to review the IAEA Safety Standards. The review will cover, as a first priority, the set of Safety Requirements, particularly those applicable to nuclear power plants and the storage of spent fuel. The draft Safety Standards Action Plan was adopted by the Commission on Safety Standards in November 2011, which noted that the Safety Standards Action Plan will be a 'living' document, continuously updated to reflect new lessons learned from the accident at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, relevant conclusions from the Extraordinary Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Convention on Nuclear Safety and initiatives taken by other international organizations in this regard.
Improving the international legal framework's effectiveness
Both the General Committee of the fourth Review Meeting of the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, and the Sixth Meeting of Representatives of the Competent Authorities identified under the Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident and the Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency, will be considering the effectiveness of these Conventions at their forthcoming meetings in March and April 2012, respectively.
The Contracting Parties to the Convention on Nuclear Safety will hold a five-day Extraordinary Meeting from 27 to 31 August 2012 "... to enhance safety through reviewing and sharing lessons learned and actions taken by Contracting Parties in response to events at Fukushima and to review the effectiveness and, if necessary, the continued suitability of the provisions of the Convention on Nuclear Safety".
The Secretariat and the International Expert Group on Nuclear Liability (INLEX) recently undertook an initial review that will provide a basis for developing a future IAEA-INLEX strategy for the period from November 2011 to July 2012.
The first annual session of the Nuclear Law Institute (NLI) is being organised by the Office of Legal Affairs in Vienna from 19 November to 3 December 2011. The two-week course helps meet the increasing demand for legislative assistance by Member States, addressing all areas of nuclear law, including, the conventions identified in the Action Plan, as well as those on nuclear security and liability.
Developing infrastructure for Member States embarking on a nuclear power programme
The Secretariat is updating the nuclear power national infrastructure evaluation methodology, which will incorporate lessons learned from Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (INIR) missions, as well as from the accident at TEPCO's Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Station. An annual workshop on nuclear power infrastructure is planned for 24-27 January 2012 for countries embarking on a nuclear power programme.
Strengthening and maintaining capacity building
The Secretariat has launched a working group to assist Member States in strengthening and maintaining their capacity building programmes in education, training, human resources, knowledge management and knowledge networks. It is developing a self-assessment methodology for capacity building programmes.
Protecting people and the environment from ionizing radiation
Upon the request of the Japanese Government, the Agency dispatched an International Expert Mission on remediation of large contaminated areas around TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. The mission, a follow-up of the fact finding mission held earlier in the year, comprised 12 international and Agency experts from several countries, who were in Japan from 7 to 14 October 2011. A preliminary summary report was submitted to the Japanese authorities on 14 October 2011. The final report was provided to the Japanese authorities on 15 November 2011 and shared with Member States and the public.
Enhancing transparency and communication effectiveness
The Unified System for Information Exchange in Incidents and Emergencies (USIE), a new streamlined, web based tool for communication that has been in operation since June 2011. The International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale's (INES) application during the accident at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station is being reviewed by the Secretariat with the support of the INES Advisory Committee. The development of the additional guidance on the application of INES will begin in February 2012.
Promoting nuclear safety research and development
The Secretariat is developing a strategy to identify existing research and development activities that have arisen from the accident at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, to facilitate information sharing, to identify any gaps in these activities, and to define, in consultation with Member States, future research and development needs.
-- by Peter Kaiser, IAEA Division of Public Information. Staff members of the IAEA's Department of Nuclear Safety and Security contributed to this report.
No comments:
Post a Comment