Chair(s): |
Yves GUANNEL, France |
Secretary: |
Yuji KUMAGAI (yuji.kumagai@oecd-nea.org) |
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Member(s): | All NEA member countries* | ||
Russia (Suspended*) | |||
*Russian Federation suspended pursuant to a decision of the OECD Council. | |||
EU participation: |
The European Union (EU) takes part in the work of the NEA, in accordance with the NEA Statute and the Supplementary Protocol to the Convention on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. | ||
Participant(s): |
India | ||
Observer(s)(International Organisation): |
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) By agreement | ||
Date of creation: | 01 January 2023 | ||
End of mandate: | 31 December 2025 |
Mandate (Document reference):
Mandate (Document extract):
Extract of document NEA/SEN/NRA(2022)6
Background
The oversight of nuclear power plants (NPPs) is an important function for a nuclear safety regulator as it provides a valuable source of information for independently verifying the safety and reliability of NPPs. In this context, “oversight” refers to the strategic process by which regulators collect information about NPP performance; analyse the safety significance of that information; and respond accordingly. The types of information available to the regulator will vary from country-to-country, but typical examples include inspection results, operating experience, and quantitative indicators of plant performance (e.g., number of un-planned SCRAMs in a given period of time). It is the function of the regulator to evaluate this information in a holistic manner so as to ensure informed regulatory decisions.
Amongst all aspects of reactor oversight, inspection shall receive special attention due to its importance to regulators and because experience has shown that the exchange of commendable practices is particularly valuable in this area. In this context, “inspection” means an examination, observation, measurement or test to assess structures, systems, components, materials, operational activities, processes, procedures, and personnel and organisational competence, while a “commendable practice” is a practice that, if adopted by a regulatory body, could improve effectiveness and/or efficiency. Commendable practices are not international standards or guidelines and their adoption is at the discretion of each regulatory body.
An additional important area of focus is the evaluation of operating experience to identify global trends, lessons learned and to develop specific recommendations for regulators in the short to medium term. Examples of these recommendations may include proposals for re-assessment of safety, additional research, new or revised regulatory inspection practices, improvements in managing operations and other actions to maintain and improve safety in the long term.
Mandate
The mandate of the Working Group on Reactor Oversight (WGRO) is to provide a mechanism for nuclear safety regulators and Technical Support Organizations (TSOs) to share their knowledge and experience on both the human and technical aspects of reactor oversight.
The WGRO seeks to facilitate an active and timely exchange of commendable practices, as well as lessons learned to help regulators perform their function more effectively and efficiently.
The WGRO and any subsidiary bodies it creates should focus on reactor oversight and analyse operating experience in order to promote consistency of regulatory practices.
Scope
The WGRO will focus on identifying and sharing relevant good practices in reactor oversight that provide the necessary assurances of day-to-day safe operation on nuclear power plants, with special attention to inspection.
The WGRO will also serve as a forum to share information on safety-relevant events and assessment of those events by the regulatory body, with the aim to evaluate operating experience to identify global trends, lessons learned and to develop specific recommendations for regulators in the short to medium term.
The primary focus of the group will be on operating power reactors, but it will also include experiences from other phases of the reactor lifecycle as well.
Objectives
The WGRO will collect and analyse information so that it can share:
Working methods
The WGRO will:
Membership
The WGRO is comprised of senior international experts from regulatory bodies and TSOs.
Interactions
The WGRO will closely co-ordinate with and exchange input with other NEA bodies, especially other CNRA working groups. It will work closely with the Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI) to deeply investigate specific technical or organizational issues that are identified during its analysis.
The WGRO will also co-ordinate as appropriate with other international organisations (e.g. IAEA, the European Commission), international non-governmental organisations (e.g. WANO), and the International Reporting System for Operating Experience (IRS).
Deliverables
The WGRO will produce guidance documents for nuclear safety regulators and other stakeholders interested in commercial nuclear power. Examples include, but are not limited to, green booklets, proceedings of seminars and workshops, collections of commendable practices implemented by regulatory bodies, case studies, and summaries of operating experience.