IAEA updates regulatory self-assessment tool

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has released an updated version of its self-assessment tool for countries to check whether their nuclear regulatory infrastructure is in line with IAEA safety standards.

"Developing and maintaining an effective regulatory framework for nuclear and radiation safety is an important challenge all countries face," the Vienna-based organisation said. It recently released an updated version of its Self-Assessment of Regulatory Infrastructure for Safety (SARIS) software in order to help regulatory bodies achieve this.

The tool enables countries to check whether regulatory infrastructure meets IAEA safety standards - a set of more than 100 documents "that reflect a consensus on what is considered a high level of nuclear and radiation safety". These standards, the IAEA said, outline the basics for establishing, maintaining and continuously improving governmental, legal and regulatory frameworks for nuclear and radiation safety. SARIS can be particularly useful for countries preparing to host IAEA missions, such as the Integrated Regulatory Review Service, which is designed to help countries strengthen the effectiveness of their national regulatory infrastructure for nuclear and radiation safety.

The SARIS self-assessment tool was originally launched in 2013 and has been regularly reviewed and revised to ensure its consistency and completeness with all relevant IAEA safety standards. The latest version - released in February - rationalises and streamlines its question sets, reducing the number of questions by 75%.

The IAEA said it encourages every member state to implement self-assessment of its national infrastructure "as an integral part of the management system of the national bodies responsible for safety, for routine, cyclic measurement, assessment and improvement of performance".

The software can be downloaded from the IAEA's website.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News