Interested participants have until May 15 to submit a synopsis to present at the IAEA International Conference on Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and Nuclear Facilities to be held in Vienna, Austria, from 13 to 17 November 2017.
“Physical protection against unauthorized removal of nuclear material during use, storage and transport and against the sabotage of nuclear material and nuclear facilities during use, storage and transport has long been a matter of national and international concern and cooperation,” said Kenneth Brooks, senior nuclear security officer at the IAEA and the Scientific Secretary of the conference. “The Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM) entered into force last year, and this conference will provide an excellent platform for countries that have adopted the Amendment to share with others their experience, challenges and lessons learnt in areas of physical protection of nuclear materials and facilities.”
The CPPNM is the only international legally binding agreement on the physical protection of nuclear material. It establishes measures relating to not just the prevention and detection, but also the punishment of offenses relating to nuclear material. The Amendment that entered into force in 2016 broadens the scope of the Convention to include protection for nuclear materials used for peaceful purposes in domestic use, storage and transport. The IAEA provided Member States with recommendations on how to implement a comprehensive physical protection regime through a publication (INFCIRC/225/Revision 5). Discussion of this publication and promotion of the universal adherence to the CPPNM and its Amendment will be among the key topics discussed at the conference.
Legislative and regulatory framework, international cooperation and technical improvement concerning the physical protection of nuclear material and facilities, as well as experience gained from the International Physical Protection Advisory Services (IPPAS) offered by the IAEA are also topics that will be discussed.
Government regulators, technical and legal experts and nuclear facility operators will share with others their valuable experiences, difficulties, lessons learned and the good practices related to the physical protection of nuclear material and facilities. Through these information exchanges, Member States are expected to implement IAEA nuclear security recommendations more easily and effectively, and also to achieve greater recognition of the importance of the CPPNM and its Amendment.
“To strengthen global nuclear security, universal adherence to and implementation of the CPPNM and its Amendment are critical,” said Gisele Irola, foreign affairs officer at the U.S. Department of State. “The international nuclear security framework is only as strong as its weakest link.”
The conference will comprise of a mix of plenary sessions, panels, keynote statements and presentations as well as poster sessions on technical and scientific papers. Find out more about the conference and submission details.
