Interested authors have until 4 November to submit abstracts for the IAEA International Conference on the Management of Spent Fuel from Nuclear Power Reactors 2019, to be held in Vienna, Austria, from 24 to 28 June 2019.
In particular, the Conference calls on students, graduates and young professionals to participate in the accompanying Young Generation Event Challenge by submitting papers for the #SFM19 Challenge.
Scientists, designers, operators, regulators, policy makers, and experts within the field of spent fuel management will exchange information on national spent fuel management strategies, to evaluate to what extent advances in the management of spent fuel can overcome current issues, and to identify expected future challenges and possible ways of meeting them.
“The previous Conference highlighted the need for adequate integration of the different steps in the fuel cycle and SFM19 will build on that,” said Amparo González-Espartero from the IAEA’s Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Materials Section and Co-Scientific Secretary of the Conference. “The theme ‘Learning from the Past, Enabling the Future’ emphasizes how decisions made in one part of the fuel cycle may affect other parts, specifically in the management of spent fuel.”
The scope of the conference includes current and potential future options for the back end of the fuel cycle while considering technological developments, regulatory requirements and safety.
It will also feature a Spent Fuel Management Challenge, open for students, graduates and young professionals to submit a paper related to one of the Conference tracks. Some of the issues they could address are technological considerations, safety, security, economics, public involvement, regulatory framework, knowledge management, safeguards or non-proliferation aspects of spent fuel management. The authors of the five most innovative papers will receive financial support to attend the Conference and present them at a Young Generation Event panel session.
The IAEA provides a forum where Member States can share their experiences and good practices in spent fuel management. It provides information and guidance, in particular to signatory countries of the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, so that they can improve their capabilities to plan, develop and implement safe, environmentally viable and efficient spent fuel management strategies.
Learn more about the topics of the Conference and the format of papers here. The last IAEA International Conference on the Management of Spent Fuel from Nuclear Power Reactors was held in 2015.
