Michele Kearney's Nuclear Wire: IAEA and Japan Host Fukushima Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety

Saturday, December 15, 2012

IAEA and Japan Host Fukushima Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety

(UPDATE of 13 December 2012)

In October 2011, the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant's Unit 1 reactor building was covered with panels and a ventilation system was activated. (Photo: TEPCO)

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From 15 to 17 December 2012, Japan is organizing the Fukushima Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety, in co-sponsorship with the International Atomic Energy Agency, to be held in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. The Fukushima Ministerial Conference will contribute to strengthening nuclear safety worldwide by providing yet another opportunity to share with the international community, at the ministerial and expert levels, further knowledge and lessons learned from the accident at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (the Fukushima Daiichi accident) and to further enhance transparency.
Participants will also discuss the progress of international efforts aimed at strengthening nuclear safety, including through the implementation of the IAEA Nuclear Safety Action Plan, as well as measures to protect people and the environment from ionizing radiation.
Conference Programme
The Ministerial Conference's co-Presidents, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, Koichiro Gemba, and the Deputy-Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation of Malaysia, Fadillah bin Haji Yusof, will chair the opening plenary session at ministerial level.
IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano will address the plenary during its opening morning session, which convenes from 09.30-12.30 local time (00.30-03.30 UTC) on 15 December 2012. The text of his address will made accessible online thereafter on the Conference Website.
The Plenary Session will be broadcast live online and the webcast is accessible here.
An outcome document will be issued at the close of the plenary session on 15 December 2012.
Following the opening plenary session, the Conference will continue with working sessions on three key topics: lessons learned from the Fukushima Daiichi accident; strengthening nuclear safety, including emergency preparedness and response, in the light of the Fukushima Daiichi accident; and protection of people and the environment from ionizing radiation.
These sessions will benefit from renowned international experts' contributions as keynote speakers and as panelists.
The Chairpersons of the three working sessions will present summaries of the discussions that took place in the working sessions during the closing plenary session on Monday, 17 December 2012.
Strengthening Nuclear Safety Worldwide
After the Fukushima nuclear accident in March 2011, work began worldwide on implementing the IAEA Action Plan on Nuclear Safety, which was endorsed at the IAEA General Conference in September 2011.
The Fukushima Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety contributes to strengthening nuclear safety by exchanging lessons learned from the Fukushima nuclear accident, enhancing transparency and offering an opportunity to discuss international progress in strengthening nuclear safety, in particular the implementation of the IAEA Action Plan on Nuclear Safety.
Revitalizing Fukushima
During the Conference, the Governor of Fukushima Prefecture, Yuhei Sato, and the Director General will sign a memorandum of cooperation between the IAEA and Fukushima Prefecture.
Joint projects undertaken by the IAEA and Fukushima Prefecture in decontamination and human health will also be announced.
Post-Accident Status
The ministers and high-level delegations attending the Conference will be briefed on the current state of TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station and Japan's activities to revitalize the area around the Nuclear Power Station.
Site tours of the Fukushima Prefecture are planned that include a workshop on the safety of products from the disaster-affected area.