As more countries become involved in the nuclear industry, the need to maintain high levels of safety and security worldwide is also becoming of paramount importance.
One of the fundaments of nuclear safety and security is improving regulatory effectiveness at national level to protect the environment and ensure public safety. However, since the consequences of a nuclear or radiological accident can be widespread, the safety and security of nuclear power and radiation applications is a global concern, not limited to individual operators and national governments.
An international conference on nuclear regulatory systems opens next week in Cape Town, South Africa. The event is a vital part of the global effort by senior nuclear safety and security regulators to review the effectiveness and performance of this regime, focusing on the important role regulators play.
"The purpose of this conference is to stress the responsibility shared by all nuclear regulators in the global community to maintain a strong, effective and efficient global nuclear safety and security focus," says Mr. Tomihiro Taniguchi, head of the IAEA´s Department of Safety and Security.
The conference will give recommendations and guidance on how to establish and maintain independent and effective national regulatory systems. In particular, participants are expected to address emerging issues concerning multinational and national responsibility for nuclear safety and security, and the need to foster international cooperation among regulators so they can share regulatory knowledge, practices and information.
The International Conference on Effective Nuclear Regulatory Systems will be held in Cape Town, South Africa, from 14 to 18 December 2009. The conference theme is Further Enhancing the Global Nuclear Safety and Security Regime.
The five-day conference is organized by the IAEA and hosted by the Government of South Africa through the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR). The Cape Town event is the second in a series of meetings that began in 2006 in Moscow, Russia.
African Networking
At the margins of the five-day international conference, a round table discussion organized by the Forum of Nuclear Regulatory Bodies in Africa (FNRBA) is to take place on 16 December 2009.
The aim of the round table is to formally present the newly-formed FNRBA to the international community and seek international partnerships on nuclear regulatory issues. The panel will focus on how to achieve effective national, regional and international coordination for developing and sustaining human resources capacity needed for effective national regulatory infrastructures in Africa.