Rosatom and IAEA enhance radiation safety cooperation

Tuesday, 15 September 2015

Rosatom and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) yesterday signed 'practical arrangements' to enhance their cooperation in radiation safety.

Pershukov and Flory sign the agreement as Kirienko and Amano look on (Image: Rosatom)

The agreement was signed during the IAEA's Scientific Forum, being held in Vienna this week, by IAEA deputy director general for nuclear safety Denis Flory and Rosatom deputy director general for innovation management Vyacheslav Pershukov. They were joined by IAEA director general Yukiya Amano and Rosatom director general Sergey Kirienko.

The so-called practical arrangements constitute a bilateral agreement to extend cooperation in radiation safety to include all projects conducted by the two parties. The IAEA put forward the initiative to sign the arrangements with all Russian organizations currently collaborating with the agency in radiation safety. Rosatom said it is the first Russian company to sign them.

The arrangements cover "nuclear personnel radiation risk assessment and management activities during planned exposure to radiation in a professional environment", Rosatom said. This project will run for three years under Rosatom's supervision and with the participation of experts from the Russian Ministry of Health. Rosatom will fund the project and the IAEA is to provide international expertise, Rosatom said.

"The project aims to develop a methodology for assessing individual radiation risks for staff at nuclear facilities in Russia based on individual dose calculation and analysis," Rosatom said. "It will culminate in a guidance report that will ultimately be published as a technical document to facilitate best international experience to be circulated among IAEA Member States," it added.

Pershukov said in the corporation's statement that in signing the practical arrangements, Russia had "once again validated its status as a global leader in nuclear power".

"Russia will become the first country to implement a risk-assessment approach to monitoring and controlling personnel exposure to radiation," he said. "Rosatom is ready to share its experience with countries cooperating with Russia to establish national nuclear power programs."

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News