The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was set up by the United Nations in 1957, as the world's ‘Atoms for peace’ organisation. It is the international centre of cooperation in the nuclear field, working with its member states and partners worldwide to promote safe, secure and peaceful nuclear technologies. UK joined the IAEA as a member state in 1957.
The IAEA and radioactive waste management
The IAEA promotes the safe use of radioactive substances through its Safety Standard documents, which set out best practice in the fields of nuclear energy production, radioactive waste management, radioactive materials transport safety and radiation protection.
See the IAEA: Safety Standards web page for more information.
IAEA committees
Four IAEA sponsored committees, the Nuclear Safety Standards Committee (NUSSC), Waste Safety Standards Committee (WASSC), Transport Safety Standards Committee (TRANSSC) and Radiation Safety Standards Committee (RASSC), oversee these separate work areas. These in turn report to the Commission on Safety Standards (CSS). DECC’s Radioactive Waste Policy team provides the UK representative on WASSC.
See the IAEA: Waste Safety Standards Committee (WASSC) web page for more information.
The IAEA and the Joint Convention
The Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, the first legal instrument to address these issues directly on a global scale, was opened for signature on 29 September 1997.
On 12 March 2001, the UK ratified the Joint Convention. The Convention requires contracting parties to submit national reports and to attend periodic review meetings.
The UK’s third national report was published in May 2008. The third review meeting of the Convention took place in Vienna from 11- 20 May 2009 which included a presentation of the UK’s report. See the IAEA: Joint Convention web page for further information on the Convention and other countries’ reports.