Information Papers

Cooperation in the Nuclear Power Industry

(June 2008)

The principal flow of information in the nuclear power industry is among the staff of the 440 power reactors operating in 31 countries. This is at a number of levels. Internationally, the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) is the lead player, but among governments the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is also vital.

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION - INDUSTRY

The most significant safety-related cooperation internationally is through the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO). This was formed following the Chernobyl accident to maximise the safety and reliability of nuclear plant operation. It held its inaugural meeting in Moscow in 1989. With Regional Centres in Atlanta, Moscow, Paris and Tokyo and a coordinating centre in London, WANO links all 115 operators of nuclear power plants in 34 countries.

WANO has four major programs: peer reviews; operating experience; technical support and exchange; and professional and technical development. WANO peer reviews are the main proactive way of sharing experience and expertise.

The exchange of information on operating experience is the basis of WANO's various programs. Information and event reports are submitted by each operating organisation to its regional centre where they are reviewed for clarity and completeness and then distributed to all WANO members using an international exchange system.

WANO Event Reports
(to be completed by WANO members in order to exchange information) 

Event Notification report
For reporting significant consequential events even if causes are not yet fully known, and where immediate action is required to avoid the same action occurring elsewhere.

Event Analysis Reports
For reporting significant consequential events once full analysis has been completed and consequences, together with direct and root causes, understood.

Event Topic Reports
For two or more events that contain a similar theme or problem areas. Prepared by members directly or by WANO regional centres.

Miscellaneous Event Reports
For events that do not meet the above criteria but which are likely to be of interest to other members.

One of WANO's first objectives was for operating staff from every nuclear plant in the former Soviet Union to visit plants in the West for technical exchange, and for personnel from the West to visit every plant in the former Soviet Union. This was accomplished in the first two years of WANO's existence. A great deal of ongoing plant-to-plant cooperation (twinning) grew out of these original exchange visits.

Since then WANO has fostered a voluntary peer review program, and so far 125 peer reviews have been carried out, including some in India and Pakistan. A key goal was to complete peer reviews at all nuclear stations worldwide by 2005, to establish a system whereby every plant hosts an outside review of its performance every three years.

A brief outline of WANO's Principles for a Strong Safety Culture is appended.

Parallel to WANO the World Institute for Nuclear Security (WINS) is being set up in 2008 as an independent not-for-profit foundation headquartered in Vienna.  It will facilitate cooperation between organisations responsible for security at nuclear facilities worldwide, both private and government-owned.  WINS aims to maintain the level of security awareness and preparedness which developed after the World Trade Centre attacks in 2001, and has been fostered by the head of the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI).  There has been strong support from the US Department of Energy and close consultation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).  Security operators have a great deal in common at different plants and will benefit from enhanced communication in the same way as very many staff did as a result of the establishment of the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) two decades earlier.

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION - UN

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), headquartered in Vienna and with 126 member States, is the peak international organisation for the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and technology. The IAEA, set up in 1957, is an independent inter-governmental organisation within the United Nations system. The IAEA's areas of international cooperation cover all aspects of reactor operations, the nuclear fuel cycle, radioactive waste management, human health and radiation protection, and safeguards.

In 1994 IAEA's International RBMK Safety Review Project brought together engineers and technicians from Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania and eight Western countries to focus on safety improvements for this type of reactor. (see also Chernobyl paper) 

The IAEA has similar programs for each model of Soviet-designed reactor. These initially identified design and operational weaknesses and prioritised safety improvements. Subsequent assistance is related to generic issues for each reactor type, plant-specific issues and training.

The IAEA's technical co-operation projects have created linkages with the European Commission (EC), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency and WANO to upgrade the safety of Soviet-designed reactors.

A further IAEA program is designed to strengthen the nuclear and radiation safety infrastructures in countries of the former Soviet Union. Following a thorough review, assistance is being given to individual countries.

IAEA technical co-operation projects, especially those in eastern and central Europe, have focused mainly on enhancing national regulatory capability and improving plant safety. Under the Soviet Union almost all nuclear activities were handled by Russian experts. National regulators lacked both information and independence, while laws and regulations were inadequate. Projects to strengthen regulation have been undertaken in Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine and Armenia.

In 1997 a maintenance training centre was opened at the Paks nuclear plant in Hungary, complete with all the key parts of the core area of a VVER 440/230 reactor. The project is particularly important because this early Soviet type was not designed for regular safety inspections or maintenance, and in earlier IAEA projects, remote control devices had to be used to reach inaccessible areas. The centre trains operators from several central and eastern European countries, as well as Hungary. It was funded by Hungary, with IAEA, Japan, USA and a number of European governments.

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION - GOVERNMENT

Several important projects involve international collaboration at government level: the Generation IV International Forum (GIF), the International Project on Innovative Nuclear Reactors and Fuel Cycles (INPRO), the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) and the Multinational Design Evaluation Program (MDEP). In addition there is the ITER project focused on nuclear fusion.

The Generation IV International Forum (GIF) is a US-led grouping set up in 2001 which has identified six reactor concepts for further investigation with a view to commercial deployment by 2030. It is focused on new reactor technology. See Generation IV paper.

The IAEA's International Project on Innovative Nuclear Reactors and Fuel Cycles (INPRO) is focused more on assessment methodology for developing country needs. It involves users as much a technology holders and has 27 countries including several which do not yet have nuclear power. It is now funded through the IAEA budget.

Both these projects are aimed at enhancing safety, reducing capital costs, improving utilisation of natural resources, reducing wastes, and improving proliferation resistance and physical protection.

The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) initiated in 2006 is US-led and aims to "work with other nations possessing advanced nuclear technologies to develop new proliferation-resistant recycling technologies in order to produce more energy, reduce waste and minimize proliferation concerns." Two technical elements of it are new reprocessing technologies which separate all transuranic elements together (and not reactor-grade plutonium on its own) and Advanced Burner (fast) Reactors (ABR) to consume the result of this while generating power. The main political aspects are restricting deployment of enrichment and reprocessing technologies outside the main nuclear countries.

Russia has made a corresponding proposal for a global network of fuel cycle facilities under UN oversight, in proposing the International Fuel Cycle Centre (INFCC) concept. TThese would include international uranium enrichment centres such as that being set up by Russia and Kazakhstan at Angarsk in Siberia (utilising one of its enrichment plants to be under international control), reprocessing and waste management centres, training centres and R&D centres.

Related to both GNEP and the Russian initiative is the question of international guarantee of fuel supplies for countries which do not have enrichment and related facilities, and which agree not to embark upon building them. The IAEA has taken a lead in asserting the need for this and is proposing to consult its member states and others on a possible new framework to set up a multilateral nuclear fuel supply assurance system. This could involve setting up virtual or actual fuel banks - as proposed by the USA and other countries - and/or international enrichment centres - as being undertaken by Russia. The IAEA is also assessing the technical, institutional and legal implications. Practical problems include how to assure supply of fabricated fuel assemblies, given problems of design and intellectual property rights.

The Multinational Design Evaluation Program (MDEP) set up in 2005 is led by the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency and involves the IAEA. It aims to develop multinational regulatory standards for design of Gen IV reactors. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has proposed a three-stage process culminating in international design certification for new reactor types, notably Generation IV types. Ten countries are involved so far: Canada, China, Finland, France, Japan, Korea, Russia, South Africa, UK, USA, but others which have or are likely to have firm commitments to building new nuclear plants may be admitted.

In September 2007 the NRC called for countries involved in development of Gen IV reactors to move to stage 3 of design evaluation, which means developing common design requirements for Gen IV reactors so that regulatory standards can be harmonised. NRC has published its draft design requirements.

The Contact Expert Group (CEG) was established in September 1995 by a group of interested countries and international organisations with the IAEA as its Secretariat. Its aim is to enhance safety of waste management in Russia and to promote international co-operative efforts aimed at resolving radioactive waste management issues. Its members include Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Norway, Russia, Sweden, UK, USA, European Union, as well as the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), and the International Science and Technology Centre (ISTC), with Japan and the Nordic Environment Finance Corp as observers.

ISTC is an intergovernmental organisation based in Moscow, established in 1992 by the EU, Japan, Russia and the US. It offers weapons scientists from CIS countries the chance to use their skills for peaceful purposes. Since 1992, other countries have joined including Norway, South Korea, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. By the end of March 2001, the ISTC's programs had funded 1250 projects worth $335 million, providing grant payments to over 30,000 individuals.

The Arctic Military Cooperation Program (AMEC) is a trilateral cooperative effort including the US, Norway and Russia, launched in 1996. . It addresses radioactive waste in the Arctic, the decommissioning of nuclear-powered submarines, and the role of environmental risk assessments. This appears to have been superseded by bilateral Russia-Norway programs, in particular a new 5-year one from 2006.

In 1985 the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency set up an international Co-operative Program on Decommissioning nuclear facilities, and this has grown into a major success, sharing knowledge and experience.

EUROPEAN COOPERATION

Cooperation within Europe and between Europe and third countries operates at several different levels. The European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM), was established by one of the Treaties of Rome in 1958 to form a common market for the development of the peaceful uses of atomic energy. It initially comprised Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and The Netherlands at a time when energy security was a prime concern. The Treaty originally envisaged common EU ownership of nuclear materials. Politically it was both a counter to US dominance and a means of cooperation with the USA by providing guarantees of peaceful use, being the basis of the first multilateral safeguards system. It now includes all European Union (EU) members. The former East Germany was admitted as part of reunified Germany in 1990.

The Euratom Treaty provided a stable legal framework that encouraged the growth and development of the nuclear industry while enhancing security of fuel supply for it and nuclear plant safety. It covers all civil nuclear activities in the European Union and aims to provide a common market in nuclear materials, to ensure nuclear fuel supplies, and to guarantee that nuclear materials are not diverted from their intended purpose.

Euratom has signed bilateral co-operation agreements to ease trade with its major partners. It also operates a comprehensive regional system of safeguards designed to ensure that materials declared for peaceful use are not diverted to military use. Today Euratom in its own right is a member of the Generation IV International Forum and the ITER consortium building a fusion reactor. It has remained substantially unchanged and is largely independent of EU parliament's control - a major point of criticism of it.

Energy co-operation and integration of energy networks is developing rapidly, both within the EU and between East and West Europe. Currently the main framework for such developments includes the European Energy Charter, the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), and the Trans-European Energy Networks (TENs). The Synergy program governs the Community's general energy relations with third countries.

In Europe, six national agencies from the European Community have combined to form a group to assist Eastern European countries with radioactive waste management.

OTHER REGIONAL COOPERATION

Fifteen countries in Central and South America cooperate under the Regional Cooperative Arrangement for the Promotion of Nuclear Science and Technology in Latin America (ARCAL) in activities related, among other, to the use of research reactors, nuclear techniques in agriculture and activities on food irradiation.

Since it was established in 1972, fifteen countries in the Asia Pacific Region, including Australia, have cooperated under the Regional Cooperative Agreement for Research, Development, and Training related to Nuclear Science and Technology. Over the past two decades RCA activities have covered agriculture, industry, medicine, radiation protection and basic nuclear science. In 1987, the program's scope was enlarged by the start of a project on energy and nuclear power planning.

Several of the IAEA programs described above are, effectively, regional programs.

BILATERAL COOPERATION

In May 2007 a memorandum of understanding between China's National Nuclear Safety Administration and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission was signed regarding Westinghouse's AP1000 reactor design. The AP1000 gained US design certification in 2005 and Westinghouse has applied for pre-licensing design approval for it in UK, expressing its policy of global standardisation. (See also MDEP above, re broader collaboration based on new designs.)

Typical of country-to-country cooperation is US assistance to the Ukraine. This deals with nuclear plant licensing, operational safety analyses, the development of supervisory inspection procedures, radioactive waste and spent fuel management, the safe transport of radioactive materials and the medical and industrial use of radioisotopes.

A US Dept. of Energy (DOE) team worked at Chernobyl on a long-term project to improve operating safety. The DOE also set up training centres equipped with simulators for the most modern Russian reactor designs both in Ukraine and Russia.

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission is working with Russia and Ukraine to improve the regulatory management structure in both countries.

The USA has provided funding to Russia through a number of other initiatives over the past decade which have generally proved successful. Since the early 1990s, efforts have focused on protection, control, and accounting of nuclear materials. This began in 1992 as the Government-to-Government Program, part of the Department of Defense Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) initiative. In 1994, DOE launched a separate, parallel effort, then in 1997 DOE consolidated these programs into the Material Protection, Control & Accounting (MPC&A) Program.

The Nuclear Cities Initiative (NCI), established by a US-Russian agreement in 1998, aims to promote military conversion projects in Russia's Nuclear Cities. It rests on cooperation between the US National Nuclear Security Administration and Russia's Nuclear Energy Ministry (Minatom). Steps are now under way to set up a European Nuclear Cities Initiative (ENCI) to help commercialise technologies developed in the nuclear cities. An International Working Group (IWG) is being established for this initiative, supported primarily by the EU. It is seen as a complementary and synergetic program with ISTC and the US initiatives.

In addition, some Russian institutes and other organisations have close links with similar US bodies through the Joint Coordinating Committee for Environmental Restoration and Waste Management (JCCEM) set up in 1990. This was based on a Memorandum of Co-operation between the US DOE and Minatom. Its purpose is to co-ordinate collaborative projects between Russian academic and governmental laboratories and the US National Laboratories on nuclear waste management and disposition. The DOE also co-operates with the Russian Academy of Sciences through the Joint Coordinating Committee on Science and Technology Cooperation (JCC).

France is cooperating with Bulgaria on nuclear power safety and radiation surveillance; with Pakistan on nuclear technology in agriculture, medicine, the environment, industry, and radiation protection and with Ukraine in nuclear fuel cycle and waste treatment techniques.

Japan has been training key nuclear power personnel from Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Hungary and the Czech and Slovak Republics in all aspects of nuclear safety.

Elsewhere, Finland is cooperating with Russia on nuclear fire safety; Sweden with Lithuania on radioactive waste disposal; and Australia (ANSTO) with the former East Germany on the clean-up of uranium mining operations.

Under the auspices of WANO and the EU Technical Assistance program, seven major west European utilities have focused efforts on assisting ten particular plants, mostly operating VVER reactors, in eastern Europe: RWE (Germany) with Balakovo (Russia), Tractabel (Belgium) with Kalinin (Russia), EdF (France) with Kola (Russia) and Rovno (Ukraine), Magnox Electric (UK) with Leningrad (Russia), British Energy (UK) with Smolensk (Russia), DTN (Spain) with South Ukraine, and GKN (Germany) with Zaporozhe (Ukraine). In addition NERSA (France) assists Beloyarsk (Russia) and Aktau (Kazakhstan) - both have fast neutron reactors.

At the level of utility-to-utility cooperation many reactors in the west have 'twinned' with nuclear plants in central Europe, Russia and the newly independent states.

Typical is the cooperation of the Bugey plant in France with the Zaporozhe plant in Ukraine, where the main areas of cooperation are station organisational structures, safety during operation, shut-down and refuelling, and maintenance.

In 1992 German utility operators launched a twinning program with VVER plants in Eastern Europe, and this has grown to 16 twinnings, with many exchange visits.

NATIONAL COOPERATION

In the USA the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO), Atlanta, was established in 1979 and has as its members all US utilities with nuclear power plants in operation or under construction. Its aim is self regulation and safety enhancement though plant evaluation by peer review, and it provided the model for development of WANO internationally. It is funded by the utilities. Among its activities are:

For instance, in 1995 INPO took a benchmarking team of 13 experts from US utilities to look at operational aspects of managing boiling water reactors in Finland and Spain, then generally considered the world's best performers. Partly as a result of INPO, the composite Performance Indicator Index for US nuclear power reactors rose steadily from 76% in 1998 to 92% in 2003 and has stayed at that level.

In Japan, the Central Research Institute of the Electric Power Industry, through its Nuclear Information Centre, provides a similar service to Japanese utilities with nuclear power plants. Both organisations maintain contacts with similar organisations in other countries where there are nuclear power reactors.

FUNDING SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) administers three funds for nuclear safety on behalf of the G24 countries and the EU for which EUR 1.5 billion has been pledged to date: the Nuclear Safety Account (NSA); the International Decommissioning Support Funds (IDSFs) for Bulgaria, Lithuania and the Slovak Republic; and the Chernobyl Shelter Fund (CSF). The EBRD provides technical, financial, legal and administrative services.

At their Munich Summit in July 1992, the G7 countries initiated a multilateral program of action to improve nuclear power plant safety in Eastern Europe. In February 1993 the G7 officially proposed that the EBRD set up a Nuclear Safety Account, to receive contributions by donor countries to be used for grants for safety projects. The first four projects financed safety upgrades for Bulgaria's Kozloduy plant, Lithuania's Ignalina plant, Russia's Leningrad, Novovoronezh and Kola plants and for Chernobyl in the Ukraine.

The Nuclear Safety Assistance Coordination Centre database lists Western aid totalling almost US$1 billion to more than 700 safety-related projects in former Eastern Bloc countries.

The EU also supports nuclear safety through various agencies and programmes such the TACIS (CIS states) and PHARE (East Europe including the Baltic states) programs and various funds. In addition, the European Investment Bank (EIB), the financing arm of the EU, administers a US $1.4 billion long term loan facility loan facility for Euratom to fund nuclear safety projects in eastern Europe, in particular those related to later-model VVER reactors. Further funding comes from the European CommissionÕs Directorate General for Transport and Energy which also has a direct responsibility for nuclear safety.

The US Export-Import Bank guaranteed a US $317 million loan to the Czech utility CEZ for Westinghouse to help upgrade and complete two late-model VVER reactors at the Temelin plant. The original instrumentation and control systems were scrapped and replaced by up to date Western digital versions.

NUCLEAR LIABILITY

The lack of adequate third-party liability protection has impeded implementation of technical improvements to Soviet-designed reactors in some countries. Western contractors and suppliers feared they would be held liable in the event of an accident.

The key legislation here includes the Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage of 1963 and the Paris Convention on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy of 1960, linked by the Joint Protocol adopted in 1988. In September 1997, further improvements were made when delegates from over 80 states adopted a Protocol to Amend the Vienna Convention and also adopted a Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage. (See also paper Liability for Nuclear Accidents.)

All the states of Eastern Europe and the former USSR with nuclear facilities have now signed the Vienna Convention except Kazakhstan. However Russia did not sign until 1996 and still has to ratify, and Ukraine did not become a party until 1996. This had the effect of delaying delivery of some Western equipment supplied under assistance agreements to these countries. Supplier concern extended to neighbouring states such as the Baltics and Belarus which could also be affected and claim compensation. Latvia was the last Baltic state to accede in 1995 but Belarus did not become a party until 1998. Interestingly, no Western European state is party to the Vienna Convention, although Spain and the UK have signed it.

Appendix 

World Association of Nuclear Operators:

Principles for a Strong Safety Culture 1. Everyone is personally responsible for nuclear safety.
Responsibility and authority are well defined, corporate policies and structures reinforce safety.

2. Leaders demonstrate commitment to safety.
This needs to be consistent in word and action.

3. Trust permeates the organization.
This is fostered by timely communication where issues are raised and addressed. Employees are expected to speak up.

4. Decision-making reflects safety first.
Operators are given authority to place safety as a prime priority, and leaders reinforce conservative decision-making.

5. Nuclear technology is recognised as special and unique.
In particular, reactivity control, continuity of core cooling and integrity of fission product barriers are understood.

6. A questioning attitude is cultivated.
Individuals are encouraged to challenge assumptions, investigate anomalies and consider possible adverse consequences of actions.

7. Organisational learning is embraced.
Operating experience is highly valued, and learned from.

8. Nuclear safety undergoes constant examination.
Assessment and review is vital.

Sources:
Nuclear Energy Institute, 1996, Source Book (4th edn).
Inside Technical Co-operation, in IAEA Bulletin, various;
Pate, 2000, in Proceedings 25th International Symposium, Uranium Institute.
IAEA.
US Department of Energy.