Nuclear safety research
Spent fuel cask transfer. Photo: Teollisuuden Voima Oy (TVO), Finland

Nuclear safety can be understood as accident prevention in nuclear installations, through its systems and its human resources, and the mitigation of risks and consequences if an accident should occur.

The main goal is that the radiological impact on people and the environment from nuclear installations remains as small as possible for both normal operation and potential accidents.

To achieve this, research and development of the scientific and technical knowledge base are required to assess the safety of nuclear reactors and fuel facilities.

NEA work on this topic

The NEA's work on nuclear safety research is through the Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI), in existence since 1973.

The CSNI is responsible for NEA programme and its activities that support maintaining and advancing the scientific and technical knowledge base of the safety of nuclear installations. Its members are made up of senior scientists and engineers, with broad responsibilities for safety technology and research programmes, and representatives from regulatory authorities.

It is a forum for the collaboration and exchange of technical information between organisations, which contribute with their expertise in research, development and engineering. It facilitates the exchange of information between member countries and safety research and development programmes to keep all member countries involved in and abreast of developments in technical safety matters.