Year
2015
Abstract
The benefits of more efficient and effective safeguards are critical to the ability of the IAEA to fulfill its mission. Historically, application of international nuclear material safeguards usually occurred after a facility was designed and in a number of cases only after it was built and operating. However, during the past decade the design and construction community have become more aware of international safeguards requirements and would prefer to include consideration of such requirements from the conceptual design phase onwards in order to reduce the need for retro-fits, change orders, and delays to schedule. With early understanding of safeguards needs, construction project management can then take advantage of any potential synergies between safeguards, security, safety and environmental protection and thereby reduce the project risk against cost increments and schedule slippage. In response to multiple requests, the IAEA is responding to this need with a suite of publications in the IAEA Nuclear Energy Series. A number of Member State Support Programmes through a joint support programme task developed this series. The series includes basic guidance in International Safeguards in Nuclear Facility Design and Construction (IAEA Nuclear Energy series NP-T-2.8) and facility specific guidance in six publications targeting the six facility types of uranium conversion, uranium enrichment, fuel fabrication, reactors (NP-T-2.9), reprocessing, and long-term spent fuel management. In view of the existing workload within the IAEA Operations Divisions and as the IAEA publishes guidance and States request assistance for new facilities, opportunities exist for developing a more effective mechanism to support IAEA efforts to implement this guidance. The presentation will include suggestions regarding how these publications can be shared and promoted. It will include lessons learned and suggestions how to affect the new facility bidding process in a constructive way.