IAEA – International Atomic Energy Agency

Every four years, the International Atomic Energy Agency organises an international conference, dedicated to TSOs with the goal to merge a wide circle of experts who are included in the work of TSOs and to ensure a forum for the exchange of experience.

This year's conference which was held in Brussels last week, was attended by 290 participants from TSOs and regulatory authorities from 65 IAEA member states and 5 international organisations. 47 oral presentations were made during the event. A novelty at the conference was the option to set questions interactively via a special application that was accessed via mobile devices. Such an approach enabled the setting of questions during presentations, which further stimulated discussions among participants. Dr. Nadja Železnik also participated with her paper entitled The Experience of EIMV as One of Slovenian TSO.

Expert organisations in many countries implement their role as expert organisations for nuclear and radiation safety, and help regulators to make better decisions in administrative procedures. Work is important, but it offers many challenges to those included. The international conference entitled Challenges Faced by Technical and Scientific Support Organizations in Enhancing Nuclear Safety and Security: Ensuring Effective and Sustainable Expertise, organised by the IAEA and in cooperation with Bel V was intended for reviewing experience and discussing the challenges, faced by organisations for technical and scientific support (TSO) in the strengthening of nuclear safety and protection. The programme encompassed the following topics:

• the role of expert organisations for nuclear and radiation safety as the support to administrative authorities,
• safety aspects and challenges,
• safety assessments of nuclear facilities,
• safety in ionising radiation and radioactive waste management,
• the role of expert organisations for nuclear and radiation safety at extraordinary events,
• other TSO challenges,
• the main aspects and elements for the development and maintenance of technical and scientific competences,
• how to develop technical and scientific capacities.