Nuclear officials convene to exchange peer review safety work

More than 900 representatives from nuclear facilities around the world will meet at the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters in Vienna, Austria this week and next to peer review one another’s work in improving nuclear safety.

The meeting, which will take place until April 7, is the Seventh Review Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Convention on Nuclear Safety (CNS). At the review meeting, delegates from convention’s 80 contracting parties will discuss the implementation of the CNS obligations, identify challenges and offer recommendations to one another for enhancing nuclear safety.

“This peer review process is a valuable way of promoting global good practices, and identifying challenges, trends and issues to help prevent accidents with radiological consequences, or mitigate these should they occur,” Juan Carlos Lentijo, IAEA deputy director general and head of the Department of Nuclear Safety and Security, said. “Sharing experiences in this way enables a collective learning from one another, which improves transparency around nuclear safety. This in turn encourages a culture of continuous improvement in the safety of civil nuclear programmes, which helps establish a high level of nuclear safety worldwide.”

The CNS, which entered into force on October 24, 1996, aims to encourage nuclear safety, safety culture, safety management and knowledge sharing among its parties. It requires the contracting parties to report on their implementation of the Convention’s commitments and allow the other contracting parties to peer review these reports. The contracting parties hold review meetings every three years.

In 2015, the contracting parties adopted the Vienna Declaration on Nuclear Safety, which is designed to guide parties in the application of the CNS objectives. The Seventh Review Meeting is the first opportunity for contracting parties to review the actions other parties have taken in response to the Declaration.