INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY
REPORT OF THE INTERNATIONAL REGULATORY REVIEW TEAM (IRRT) TO SLOVENIA
Ljubljana 29 November - 10 December 1999
DIVISION OF NUCLEAR INSTALLATION SAFETY
FOREWORD
by the
Director General
The IAEA International Regulatory Review Team (IRRT) programme assists Member States to enhance the organization and performance of their nuclear safety regulatory body. Such a regulatory body must work within the framework of its national legal system which in turn should ensure both the independence of and the legal powers available to the regulatory body. Additionally the national administrative and legislative system should ensure that the regulatory body has sufficient funding and resources to carry out its functions of reviewing and assessing safety submissions; licensing or authorizing nuclear safety activities; establishing regulations and criteria; inspecting nuclear facilities; and enforcing national legislation. The regulatory body should be resourced and staffed by capable and experienced staff to a level commensurate with the national nuclear programme. IRRT missions focus on all these aspects in assessing the regulatory body's safety effectiveness. Comparisons with successful practices in other countries are made and ideas for improving safety are exchanged at the working level.
An IRRT mission is made only at the request of a Member State. It is not an inspection to determine compliance with national legislation, rather an objective review of nuclear regulatory practices with respect to international guidelines. The evaluation can complement national efforts by providing an independent, international assessment of work processes that may identify areas for improvement. Through the IRRT programme, the IAEA facilitates the exchange of knowledge and experience between international experts and regulatory body personnel. Such advice and assistance will enhance nuclear safety in all nuclear countries. An IRRT mission is also a good training ground for observers from newly formed regulatory bodies in developing countries who follow the evaluation process. This approach, based on voluntary co-operation, contributes to the attainment of international standards of excellence in nuclear safety at the regulatory body level.
Essential features of the work of the IRRT experts and their regulatory body counterparts are the comparisons of regulatory practices with international guidelines and best practices, and a joint search for areas where practices can be enhanced. The implementation of any recommendations or suggestions, after consideration by the regulatory body, is entirely voluntary.
The number of recommendations, suggestions and good practices is in no way a measure of the status of the regulatory body. Comparisons of such numbers between IRRT reports for different countries is not legitimate.
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