Senior Regulators MeetingSenior Regulators MeetingThe future of the IRRS Programme: Enhancing the Effectiveness of theRegulatory Body

Ramzi Jammal, Executive Vice-President and Chief

Regulatory Operations Officer

Sept. 19, 2013

Benefits of IRRS Missions

IRRS missions provide:• Opportunities, through self assessment and peer reviews, for

national regulators to continually improve their regulatory programs

• Feedback to the member state and the IAEA on the application of IAEA safety standards in member states

• Opportunities for harmonization and strengthening of regulatory approaches among member states

• Demonstration of commitments through the use of follow-up missions

• Opportunities, through publishing of IRRS reports, for transparency on the performance of national regulatory programs

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Continuous improvement and transparency to strengthen global nuclear safety

IRRS Participation by Member States

Member states which have had or plan to host missions:• Countries with existing nuclear installations producing electricity - 26

out of 30 (87%)• New Entrants - 3 of 18 (17%)• Approximately half of member states make their full IRRS reports

publicly accessible• 43% publish only the Executive Summary

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IRRS Follow-Up Participation

To date, only 8 of 40 participants have hosted follow-up missions:Within 2-4 year timeline:

7 countries have nuclear installations producing electricity 1 has a research reactor

IRRS Guidelines Sec. 10.2: “Typically, a follow-up mission will take place two to four years following the initial IRRS. … Beyond four years the effectiveness of the follow-up process may be limited.”

IRRS Guideline is not being met. Who is the champion?

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Review the implementation of the recommendations and suggestions

Why are follow-up missions

needed?

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Obligations of Member States

IAEA General Safety Requirements Part 1, states:“2.7 An independent regulatory body will not be entirely separate from other governmental bodies.”

“2.8 To be effectively independent, the regulatory body shall have sufficient authority and sufficient staffing and shall have access to sufficient financial resources for the proper discharge of its assigned responsibilities.”

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Governments must be notified of non-responding regulators

Government has a role and an obligation to ensure that its regulatory body is effective in carrying out its mandate.

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IAEA Safety Guide SSG-16, Action 10.“The government should ensure that the regulatory body and the operating organization are fulfilling their responsibilities.”

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Roles of Government and Regulator

Independence from government is critical for sound judgements and independent decisions, but...• Independent regulator should not be isolated from

government.

Governments should know if their regulators:• Do not respect IRRS Guidelines in implementing

recommendations and suggestions• Have no plans for an IRRS mission or requests for a

follow-up mission

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Who should inform the government with regard to safety?

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Enhancements to IRRS Program: Implementation and Governance

IAEA Safety Standards, Requirements and Guidelines are adequate

The IRRS programme needs to focus on deficiencies in implementation and address:

Regulator inaction and unresponsiveness in implementing IRRS recommendations and suggestions

The commitments to both initial and follow-up missions in a timely manner

Publish reports and findings of the peer reviews

DG of IAEA must inform government of member state in cases of inaction by regulator

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Need to verify implementation of IRRS recommendations and suggestions

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Enhancing the IRRS Programme

Should we continue to have 30-40 findings – selective modules – is this an effective way to promote improvements?

Recommendations and suggestions (R&S): Should be strategic Should be focused on findings that impact both short-term and

long-term functions of the regulator Should be SMART:

Safety-focussed Measurable against safety standardsAchievable in order to be implementedResults-oriented in order to be verifiedTimely- to be implemented within 2-4 years

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Relevant and beneficial reviews8Senior Regulators Meeting

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Role of the Convention on Nuclear Safety

As a legal tool to enhance global safety in addition to the IRRS• Preamble

(vii) Affirming the importance of international co-operation for the enhancement of nuclear safety through existing bilateral and multilateral mechanisms and the establishment of this incentive Convention;

• Objectives The objectives of this Convention are:

(i) to achieve and maintain a high level of nuclear safety worldwide through the enhancement of national measures and international co-operation including, where appropriate, safety-related technical co-operation;

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Role of the Convention on Nuclear Safety

Guidelines should call on every contracting party to:• Include recommendations and suggestions (R&S) of IRRS missions in their respective

country report• Report on the status of implementing IRRS R&S• Indicate if the contracting party is willing to request IRRS or follow-up missions

Country Grouping questions or requests for information should:• Challenge their peers to report on whether they hosted an IRRS mission or a follow-up

mission and ask about the progress in implementing (R&S)

The President’s report should: • Contain a section dedicated to peer reviews to report on the compliance with safety

standards• Inform the DG of the IAEA of contracting parties who are not implementing peer

reviews nor requested peer reviews

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Openness and transparencySenior Regulators Meeting

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The Role of the Board of Governors Governance

• Responsibility of the IAEA Secretariat to report and make recommendations to BoG regarding non-responsive regulators

• Responsibility of BoG to direct the DG of the IAEA to write to governments to make sure they are aware of lack of response from their regulators

• One non-responsive or dismissive regulator impacts all other regulators’ effectiveness regarding safety

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“members of the Board … are not technical specialists” but all have an important role in nuclear safety

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Conclusions

• Nuclear safety is paramount in protecting the health of humans and the environment and retaining public confidence in the effectiveness of the global regulatory framework

• Peer review processes are a critical component ensuring consistent application of IAEA best practices throughout the world

• BoG must actively promote and encourage the consistent application of best practices in nuclear safety – and give it the same visibility as safeguards and security

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Conclusions

• Member states should support IAEA action plan and ongoing review of the IAEA IRRS guidelines and lessons learned from missions

• Many member states are already raising the bar, for example: EU directive for countries to host peer reviews at least every 10

years

• Canada is ready to participate in the enhancement of the IRRS programme

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We Will Never Compromise

Safety… … It’s In Our DNA!

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