The Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (INIR) service, launched by the IAEA in 2009, was designed to support the evaluation of the infrastructure for the introduction of a nuclear power programme. An INIR mission is conducted upon Member States request and it enables countries to identify areas of infrastructure development where further attention is needed. The INIR mission also identifies good practices to be shared with other Member States. In addition, it provides an opportunity for the exchange of information between local experts and a team of IAEA and international experts on their experiences. This publication is intended to provide information and analysis on the main results of INIR missions and to share lessons learned. The publication also explains the recent developments in the INIR process and the mechanisms to support Member States after an INIR mission is conducted.

Seismic instrumentation systems are important elements for plant safety. They provide crucial information for the assessment of safety required to restart a plant after a shutdown caused by an earthquake. This publication presents information and experience related to the development of seismic instrumentation systems and the utilization of data recorded by them, based on recent seismic events. The publication is intended to be a reference for developing effective post-earthquake actions/procedures. It describes the typologies of seismic instrumentation systems and their application for obtaining ‘earthquake levels’ and ‘damage indicating parameters’ that are used to predict the extent of seismic damage caused by the recorded earthquake motions. It complements IAEA Safety Standards Series No. NS-G-1.6, Seismic Design and Qualification for Nuclear Power Plants, and Safety Reports Series No. 66, Earthquake Preparedness and Response for Nuclear Power Plants, as a technical publication relevant to seismic safety for new and existing nuclear installations.

Decontamination plays an important role in ensuring the safe and long term operation of nuclear power plants. Therefore nuclear power plant operators continuously adopt new decontamination techniques or improve existing decontamination processes to reduce radiation exposures encountered during normal operation, shutdowns, and maintenance and inspection activities during subsequent plant operation. These activities have resulted in a large amount of information which is reflected in this publication. Experiences, lessons identified and good practices for decontamination during outage in nuclear power plants in operation are described. The goal was to consolidate, update, reorganize and expand upon information contained in other IAEA publications related to the subject. The result is a state-of-the-art reference for Member States to help select decontamination techniques suitable for their specific needs.

An effective regulatory framework is essential to the success of a national nuclear power programme. The IAEA has developed the Milestones approach to help Member States embarking on nuclear power to understand and develop the necessary infrastructure requirements in a phased way. The regulatory framework is one of the 19 infrastructure issues that are described in the Milestones approach. The primary objective of this publication is to present the experiences of selected Member States that are in the process of building or expanding their regulatory framework for a nuclear power programme, including the challenges they faced. The publication also provides insights on IAEA safety requirements and guidance on establishing an effective regulatory framework with reference to the IAEA Safety Standards Series, the IAEA Nuclear Security Series, and IAEA Safeguards guidance publications. In addition, it demonstrates how these requirements fit into the overall development of a nuclear power programme through the IAEA Milestones approach.

Radiological environmental impact assessment models are important tools to ensure protection of the public and the environment. The IAEA has an ongoing programme to improve capabilities in this area by model testing and comparison, reaching consensus on modelling philosophies, approaches and parameter values. This publication describes and summarizes the findings of Working Group 9 carried out during the IAEA EMRAS II (Environmental Modelling for Radiation Safety) programme. The results presented draw on international model validation exercises conducted to test and improve the predictive ability of models used for the assessment of radioactive contamination in urban settings, including dispersion and deposition events, short and long term contaminant redistribution following deposition events, and the effectiveness of potential countermeasures (protective actions, including remedial actions) for reducing human exposures.

National nuclear institutes (NNIs) contribute significantly to national development, providing services focused on developing and applying relevant technologies for the public good. While many NNIs provide commercial services and products that generate revenue, some are financially dependent on subsidies from national governments. This publication presents the outcome of a workshop which addressed the challenges for Member States regarding self-reliance and sustainability of their NNIs. Participants discussed efforts and best practices to cope with these challenges. The publication includes positive examples of tools or measures to be used in practical projects and programmes for achieving management goals towards self-reliance and sustainability. Examples of governmental policies in support of self-reliance and sustainability of NNIs are also presented. Finally, the country presentations in this publication show some examples of how NNIs cooperate with public or private stakeholders, providing some insights on how partnership opportunities can be explored.

Providing useful information on optimized chemistry control for pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWRs), this publication presents up to date knowledge on the topic including corrosion phenomena observed in the primary heat transport system and consequent effects on fuel reliability in PHWRs. Specifically, it describes the national practices on coolant chemistry control under various operating conditions and research and development programmes aiming to understand the corrosion phenomena (formation and transport) and related chemistry control. Crud deposit on the fuel cladding, the influence on fuel fitness-for-service in the primary heat transport system, as well as the technical basis for remedial actions to ensure reliable fuel performance in PHWRs are considered.

Considerable progress has been made over the past several decades in the design and regulatory requirements for fire safety, in fire protection technology and in related analytical techniques. Substantial efforts have been undertaken worldwide to implement these advances in the interest of improving fire safety in both new and operating nuclear power plants (NPPs). This publication provides information and insights on lessons identified, and best practices to reflect the recent status of the worldwide nuclear power industry and to provide further detailed guidelines and assistance in enhancing the fire safety of operating NPPs.

The effectiveness of nuclear regulatory systems is enhanced by portraying transparency and openness in communicating all matters relating to safety to the public and stakeholders. This plays an important role in maintaining and enhancing public confidence on the safe use of nuclear energy for socioeconomic development. The regulatory body, in presenting the comprehensive safety status of nuclear installations, can use the outcome of integrated safety assessment mechanism which considers all important aspects of safety, with openness and transparency. This data driven process provides the public, relevant organizations and decision makers with comprehensive information on safety and regulatory decisions related to nuclear installations and is intended to provide a strong basis for, confidence in the regulatory decisions and information system. This publication provides practical information on the development of an integrated safety assessment mechanism by the regulatory bodies for nuclear installations. The integrated safety assessment model proposed in the publication comprises three steps: organizing input data for integrated safety assessment, trending and analysis, and development of overall results and conclusions.

Theranostic radiopharmaceuticals have shown tremendous capabilities in the last decade in the treatment and diagnosis of human diseases via nuclear medicine procedures. In particular, the use of radiometals has experienced a great increase as a result of the development of relevant production technologies. This publication presents the outcome of an IAEA coordinated research project (CRP) focusing on the production, quality control and radiopharmaceutical aspects of three key radionuclides, 67CU, 186Re and 47Sc, which have been selected based on their theranostic potential and their dual production routes. The publication was compiled using inputs from experts in the field as well as presenting the overall results of the CRP. It contains separate sections for each radionuclide including: nuclear data and information on targetry, irradiation, chemical separation, quality control as well as sample radiopharmaceutical production. The findings and considerations will be of use to scientists and technologists interested in translating research reactor and cyclotron based radioisotope production into practice, as well as to post graduate students in the field.

Following the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, combustible gas behaviour and related accident management measures have been the subject of increased study and analysis. This has included on measures to limit the fission product release into the environment. This publication reviews the current state of technology regarding combustible gas related safety issues in water cooled nuclear reactors, with a specific focus on post-Fukushima Daiichi accident developments. The recent results obtained from experimental and analytical research on hydrogen/combustible gas behavior are discussed. The knowledge base developed will be useful for validation and assessment activities related to combustible gas modelling implemented in the existing safety analysis tools. It may also contribute to future improvements in severe accident management guidelines.

This publication presents the outcome of a technical meeting on modern neutron detection. The objective of the meeting was to bring together experience and opinions from experts from various fields in which neutron detection is used, and to produce this publication that will cover the current state of the art in neutron detection and provide a medium-term outlook on technologies in the field. The scope of this publication covers new materials and detector electronics, in fields such as metrology, dosimetry, spectroscopy, fusion and scattering applications. It offers an overview of many of the current developments in this wide field, together with a description of some of the front-end electronics and spectral unfolding techniques.