Building upon earlier IAEA publications on this topic, this Safety Report reviews how challenges to the maintenance of nuclear power plants can affect safety culture. It also highlights indications of a weakening safety culture. The challenges described are in areas such as maintenance management, human resources management, plant condition assessment and the business environment. The steps that some Member States have taken to address safety culture aspects are being detailed and singled out as good practices, with a view to disseminating and exchanging experiences and lessons learned.

This report provides information on the content and format for decommissioning plans and supporting safety related documents. Its scope includes information that is relevant to all types of nuclear facilities, ranging from nuclear power plants and reprocessing facilities to university laboratories and manufacturing plants. The report will be of interest to decommissioning planning engineers, project managers and operations managers.

The International Basic Safety Standards for Protection against Ionizing Radiation and for the Safety of Radiation Sources (BSS) establish requirements on the legal persons responsible for designing, running and decommissioning practices involving ionizing radiation. This report is intended to be of assistance to both regulators and users of radiation sources in nuclear medicine in applying the BSS to this practice. Regulators will find it useful for reviewing applications for authorization and for the inspection of the practice. Users of radiation in nuclear medicine may follow the guidance provided in order to comply with BSS requirements or equivalent national requirements. Experts recruited on IAEA missions to advise on the implementation of the BSS for the practice of nuclear medicine are expected to use the guidance given in this report rather than their own national regulations and guidance.

Accident analysis is an important tool for confirming the adequacy and efficiency of provisions within the defence in depth concept for the safety of nuclear power plants. In 2002, the IAEA published Safety Reports Series No. 23 on Accident Analysis for Nuclear Power Plants, containing general rules and practical guidance for performing accident analysis applicable to any reactor design. The specific features of individual reactor types are taken into account in separate Safety Reports. The current report provides additional guidance with respect to the specific design features of the graphite moderated boiling water reactors with pressurized channels known as RBMKs. In particular, guidance is provided regarding categorization of initiating events, selection of acceptance criteria, and initial and boundary conditions. Specific suggestions are offered for analysis of different groups of initiating events. The report is intended primarily for analysts coordinating, performing or reviewing computational analyses of transients and accidents for nuclear power plants with RBMKs, on both the utility and regulatory sides.

This publication provides specific technical information on implementation of the defence in depth concept in the siting, design, construction and operation of nuclear power plants (NPPs). It describes a method for verifying capabilities for implementation of defence in depth in existing NPPs. For given objectives of each level of defence, a set of challenges to achieve these objectives is identified as well as several constitutive mechanisms leading to these challenges, and a list of possible safety provisions which contribute to prevention of these mechanisms is provided. This book is intended to serve as a reference primarily for self-assessment of the comprehensiveness and quality of defence in depth provisions by NPP operators, but it can also be used by regulators or independent reviewers. It offers a complementary tool for evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of defence in depth in a specific NPP.

This Safety Report has been prepared to support Safety Guide RS-G-1.7, Application of the Concepts of Exclusion, Exemption and Clearance. The information provided in this publication can be applied to all commodities other than foodstuffs and drinking water. This publication provides the basis for the activity concentration levels given in the related Safety Guide. It presents the detailed scenario descriptions and parameters that were used.

This report provides insights, guidance and a framework for Member States to conduct realistic safety assessments for research reactors in terms of external events. A graded approach to the safety of research reactors is presented based on the radiological hazard that a facility poses to the environment, the public and workers. This report supports the development of site specific guidelines for the actual design and safety assessment. It can also be used as background for the preparation of training material for research reactor staff for a self-assessment of the vulnerability of existing structures to external events.

The publication deals with surveillance and monitoring activities for the purposes of demonstrating the safety of near surface radioactive waste disposal facilities. It covers all phases of facility development from siting through construction and operation to closure. It identifies the activities over which surveillance needs to be exercised and the parameters to be monitored, and provides examples of such programmes for present-day facilities. It also addresses programmes that may be necessary for older facilities which were not built to present-day standards and for which surveillance and monitoring may have to be carried out to identify remedial measures to be taken.

Radioactive material is used in many human activities, and whenever unsealed radioactive sources are present intakes of radionuclides by workers can occur. Intakes can occur by a number of routes, and the monitoring of workers and the workplace is an integral part of any occupational radiation protection programme. This report contains practical advice on the interpretation of such monitoring results and the assessment of committed effective doses to workers. A CD-ROM of tables is included.

This publication provides a description of the elements which should be addressed by the team responsible for the preparation, development and implementation of a plant specific accident management programme at a nuclear power plant. The issues addressed include formation of the team, selection of accident management strategies, safety analyses required, evaluation of the performance of plant systems, development of accident management procedures and guidelines, staffing and qualification of accident management personnel, and training needs. The report is intended to facilitate the work to be done by nuclear power plant operators, utilities and their technical support organizations, but it can also be used for the preparation of relevant national regulatory requirements.

A growing number of nuclear facilities around the world are being shut down for various reasons. The transition period between operations and implementation of the decommissioning strategy includes some routine operations and others that may be specific to the transition stage. These transitional operations are undertaken following procedures authorized by the regulatory body. In this period, a number of modifications, both technical and organizational, are required to adjust the facility to new objectives and requirements. This Safety Report provides information regarding the safety concerns associated with the transition period and suggests solutions for managing them. It addresses issues that are generically applicable to any nuclear facility and those that are specific to various types of nuclear facility.

This report deals with radon and thoron and their decay products in workplaces other than mines. It is intended for use in the application of radiation protection principles in those workplaces where employers may not have an extensive background in radiation protection. It provides practical information on action levels for workplaces, on monitoring techniques and on actions aimed at reducing exposures to radon and thoron and their decay products when necessary. It is also intended to assist regulatory bodies in establishing their own national policies in controlling high radon and thoron exposures of non-mining workforces.