This Safety Guide provides specific recommendations on protection against internal and external hazards in the operation of nuclear power plants. It provides new or updated recommendations derived from enhanced understanding of operational aspects of hazards and combinations of hazards. Operating experience gained from incidents and accidents in nuclear power plants around the world has demonst…
At its 59th regular session, the IAEA General Conference adopted resolution GC(59)/RES/9, which “[e]ncourages Member States to ensure regular self-assessments of their domestic nuclear, radiation, transport and waste safety, as well as emergency preparedness, using the IAEA self-assessment tools and taking into account the relevant IAEA Safety Standards”. To assist Member States in completi…
Physicists work in many health-related areas, such as: clinical settings, academia (teaching and research), industry (technology development and servicing), national and local government regulatory agencies, accreditation agencies, laboratories (calibration and dosimetry laboratories), and standards’ organizations. Clinically qualified medical physicists (CQMPs) are professionals working i…
The effectiveness of nuclear regulatory systems is enhanced by portraying transparency and openness in communicating all matters relating to safety to the public and stakeholders. This plays an important role in maintaining and enhancing public confidence on the safe use of nuclear energy for socioeconomic development. The regulatory body, in presenting the comprehensive safety status of nuclea…
Radioisotopes produced by cyclotrons, and their corresponding radiopharmaceuticals, have been shown to be extremely valuable in basic medical research, disease diagnosis and radiotherapy treatment. More than 300 cyclotron facilities exist worldwide and the number is growing. A number of IAEA Member States have acquired cyclotrons to produce radioisotopes for nuclear medicine and several others …
Thousands of laboratories worldwide are performing analyses of the stable isotopic composition of elements for a large variety of scientific applications, ranging from hydrology, geology and climate studies to agriculture, biology or medicine. These laboratories may develop and validate new analytical methods, study the adherence to legislative rules or provide services to other organizations. …
This Safety Guide was developed under the IAEA programme for safety standards for research reactors, which covers all the important areas of research reactor safety. It supplements and elaborates upon the safety requirements for the commissioning of research reactors that are established in the IAEA Safety Requirements publication on the Safety of Research Reactors [1]. It also relates to the I…
The IAEA’s statutory role is to “seek to accelerate and enlarge the contribution of atomic energy to peace, health and prosperity throughout the world”. Among other functions, the IAEA is authorized to “foster the exchange of scientific and technical information on peaceful uses of atomic energy”. One way this is achieved is through a range of technical publications including the IAEA…
The IAEA Nuclear Security Series provides international consensus guidance on all aspects of nuclear security to support States as they work to fulfil their responsibility for nuclear security. The IAEA establishes and maintains this guidance as part of its central role in providing nuclear security related international support and coordination. The IAEA Nuclear Security Series was launched in…
Launching a nuclear power programme is the sovereign decision of a country and constitutes a major undertaking requiring careful planning, preparation and investment in time, institutions, financing and human resources. The IAEA has developed a three phase methodology to support the development of the national infrastructure required for a nuclear power programme in a Member State. Known as …