Publications


List of titles sorted by date
Towards a Shared Understanding of Radiological Risks (2020)
Summary Report of the NEA Stakeholder Involvement Workshop on Risk Communication
Insights from Leaders in Nuclear Energy - Leadership for Safety (2019)
Hans Wanner, Director-General, Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ENSI) and Mike Harrison, Chief Nuclear Officer, EDF Energy

Detailed publication list

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Towards a Shared Understanding of Radiological Risks
Summary Report of the NEA Stakeholder Involvement Workshop on Risk Communication
English, published: 02/26/21
NEA#7554
Available online at: http://www.oecd-nea.orghttps://www.oecd-nea.org/jcms/pl_56307/towards-a-shared-understanding-of-radiological-risks?details=true
The decisions made about exposure to ionising radiation tend to be driven by subjective judgements about
the health risks that radiation exposure may cause. In order to reach decisions that are effective and
sustainable, it is essential for nuclear safety regulators, governments, nuclear facility operators and other
nuclear energy decision makers to communicate scientific, technical and regulatory information regarding
radiological and other risks to all stakeholders. Communicating such information can be complex since
people judge and evaluate risks differently depending on the context and on their perceptions of risk.
In this context, the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) organised the “Stakeholder Involvement Workshop
on Risk Communication: Towards a Shared Understanding of Radiological Risks” in September 2019.
The workshop provided an opportunity for participants to share perspectives and lessons learnt in risk
communication, identifying what has been effective and what has been less effective in the various cases.
By understanding how situation-specific factors influence risk communication, a common framework
addressing such circumstances can begin to emerge.
This report attempts to capture the collective wisdom generated over the three days of interactions in the
hope that the knowledge gained from this workshop will benefit governments and citizens alike.
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Methods for Assessing and Strengthening the Safety Culture of the Regulatory Body
English, published: 02/22/21
NEA#7535
Available online at: http://www.oecd-nea.orghttps://www.oecd-nea.org/jcms/pl_57211/methods-for-assessing-and-strengthening-the-safety-culture-of-the-regulatory-body
It is essential that organisations in the nuclear community maintain a healthy safety culture to achieve
common goals regarding the safe operation of nuclear facilities and the safe use of nuclear material.
Regulatory bodies are no exception, as a key element of the interconnected system which includes
licensees, research institutions, technical support organisations, as well as governmental organisations
and other stakeholders. By their very nature, regulatory bodies deeply influence the safety culture and
the safety of the organisations they regulate and oversee. Based on their regulatory strategy, the way
they carry out their daily oversight work, the type of relationship they cultivate with licensees, the values
they convey and the importance they give to safety, regulatory bodies profoundly impact the licensees’
safety culture, their sense of responsibility for safety and, by extension, the safety of their installations.
Regulatory bodies apply a number of methods, practices and approaches to foster and sustain a healthy
safety culture. This report provides an overview and practical examples to build the regulatory bodies’
safety culture competence and to perform self-reflection and self-assessment with regard to their own
safety culture and its impact on the safety culture of the organisations they oversee. Drawing directly
from the experiences from OECD Nuclear Energy Agency member countries, the report discusses effective
methods to disseminate safety culture throughout the regulatory body, to build competence in safety
culture, and to develop self-reflection and self-assessment activities. Finally, the report presents ten
conclusions based on lessons learnt and best practices to inspire managers to continuously develop their
regulatory body’s safety culture.
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Insights from Leaders in Nuclear Energy: Innovative Leadership
English, published: 05/29/20
NEA#7528
Available online at: http://www.oecd-nea.org/hans/pubs/2020/7528-leader-insights-3.pdf
Insights from Leaders in Nuclear Energy shares personal insights through a series of in-depth conversations between the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency Director-General and leading figures in the sector. Each conversation explores the current issues and offers new ways to address challenges and aim for excellence.

William D. Magwood IV, Director-General of the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), sat down with Rumina Velshi, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, on 17 January 2020. Ms Velshi has extensive experience in the energy sector, including its technical, regulatory and adjudicatory aspects. She visited the NEA to attend briefings on key programmes and activities and to have an open discussion on issues related to leadership in today’s nuclear energy sector. In a wide-ranging discussion, she shared her perspectives as a leader in nuclear safety, her long-standing involvement in nuclear energy regulation and her activities promoting careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The conversation covered the important aspects of leadership, current issues affecting an organisation that promotes nuclear safety, preparation for future nuclear energy technologies and the achievement of a better gender balance in the workforce.

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NEA International Mentoring Workshop in Fukushima, August 2019
English, published: 12/13/19
NEA#7514
Available online at: http://www.oecd-nea.org/hans/pubs/2019/7514-mentoring-workshop-2019.pdf
The NEA mentoring workshops are in line with the initiatives being undertaken by countries around the world to ensure that expertise is maintained in highly technical areas such as nuclear safety, radiological protection and other critical disciplines. Capacity-building efforts focusing on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields need to be sustained and reinforced – particularly those aimed at young women, who are significantly under-represented in many areas. It is in this spirit that the NEA partnered with Japan’s National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology (QST) in 2017 to organise its first International Mentoring Workshop in Science and Engineering, on 25-26 July 2017 in Chiba, Japan. The success of this first workshop has led to the organisation of two additional workshops in 2018 – one in Tokyo, Japan, and the other in Ávila, Spain. In 2019, another workshop was held on 2-3 August in Fukushima, Japan, in co-operation with the Nuclear Damage Compensation and Decommissioning Facilitation Corporation (NDF). These workshops are a clear manifestation of the NEA’s commitment to maintaining, and further strengthening, its momentum in encouraging a future generation of female leaders in science and engineering fields.
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Country Specific Safety Culture Forum - Finland
English, published: 11/29/19
NEA#7488
Available online at: http://www.oecd-nea.org/hans/pubs/2019/7488-csscf-finland.pdf
One of the many important lessons learnt about nuclear safety over the years has been that human aspects of nuclear safety are as important as any technical issue that may arise in the course of nuclear operations. The international nuclear community can work together to identify and address issues associated with components and systems and compare operational experiences, but identifying how human behaviour affects safety and the best approaches to examine this behaviour from country to country remains less common.
Practical experience has nevertheless shown that there are important differences in how people work together and communicate across borders. People’s behaviours, attitudes and values do not stop at the gate of a nuclear installation, and awareness of the systemic nature of culture and its deeper aspects, such as the dynamics of how values and assumptions influence behaviours, continues to evolve.
The Country Specific Safety Culture Forum was created to gain a better understanding of how a national context relates to safety culture and how operators and regulators should think about these effects in their day-to-day activities, with the goal to ensure safe nuclear operations. The second NEA safety culture forum – a collaborative effort between the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) and the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority in Finland (STUK) – was held in Finland in March 2019. This report outlines the process used to conduct the forum, reveals its findings and hopes to inspire the nuclear community to further reflect and take action.
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Multi-Stage Validation of Control Room Designs and Modifications
English, published: 11/26/19
NEA#7466
Available online at: http://www.oecd-nea.org/hans/pubs/2019/7466-multi-stage-validation.pdf
A mature and well-guided multi-stage approach to the validation of nuclear power plant control room designs has the potential to reduce the risks involved in the design process. Such an approach can also increase the effectiveness of, and efficiencies in, the validation process, as well as overall confidence in the results. This relatively new concept of multi-stage validation has yet to be defined in the technical literature, and thus the report describes the approach and the rationale for validating systems through a series of successive, co-ordinated validation activities.
The scope of application of multi-scale validation addressed in the context of this report includes aspects related to both the human factors engineering of new nuclear power plant main control room designs and modifications to existing control room designs. The objective is to provide a common reference for future dialogue, research and development concerning the multi-stage validation approach, and ultimately to support the safe operation of nuclear power plants worldwide.
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Insights from Leaders in Nuclear Energy - Leadership for Safety
Hans Wanner, Director-General, Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ENSI) and Mike Harrison, Chief Nuclear Officer, EDF Energy
English, published: 10/01/19
NEA#7491
Available online at: http://www.oecd-nea.org/hans/pubs/2019/7491-leader-insights-2.pdf
Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) Director-General William D. Magwood, IV sat down with Director-General Wanner and Chief Nuclear Officer Harrison during the NEA-IAEA-WANO Human Capital Workshop in June 2019 in Paris for a wide-ranging discussion regarding leadership and nuclear safety. The conversation touched on influencing behaviour, feedback culture, transparency, public communications, and the relationship between the regulator and operator.
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Insights from Leaders in Nuclear Energy: Safety, Performance, and Responsibility
English, published: 01/16/19
NEA#7461
Available online at: http://www.oecd-nea.org/hans/pubs/series/insights/nra-japan.pdf
Insights from Leaders in Nuclear Energy shares personal insights through a series of in-depth conversations between the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency Director-General and leading figures in the sector. Each conversation explores the current issues and offers new ways to address challenges and aim for excellence.
In August 2018, NEA Director-General William D. Magwood, IV sat down with Toyoshi Fuketa, Chairman of the Japanese Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA), for a wide-ranging discussion regarding nuclear safety issues in Japan. The conversation touches on the Tokyo Electronic Power Company (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident, as well as ongoing challenges, Chairman Fuketa's perspective and insights and new directions for the NRA.

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2018 NEA International Mentoring Workshops
English, 16 pages, published: 10/23/18
NEA#7454
Available online at: http://www.oecd-nea.org/hans/pubs/2018/7454-mentoring-workshops-2018.pdf
The NEA mentoring workshops are in line with the initiatives being undertaken by countries around the world to ensure that expertise is maintained in highly technical areas such as nuclear safety, radiological protection and other critical disciplines. Capacity-building efforts focusing on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields need to be sustained and reinforced – particularly those aimed at young women, who are significantly under-represented in many areas. It is in this spirit that the NEA partnered with Japan’s National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology (QST) in 2017 to organise its first International Mentoring Workshop in Science and Engineering, on 25-26 July 2017 in Chiba, Japan. The success of this first workshop has led to the organisation of two additional workshops in 2018, both of which are introduced in this brochure – one in Tokyo, Japan, and the other in Ávila, Spain. These workshops are a clear manifestation of the NEA’s commitment to maintaining, and further strengthening, its momentum in encouraging a future generation of female leaders in science and engineering fields.
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Swedish version of Country-Specific Safety Culture Forum: Sweden
Swedish, published: 09/13/18
NEA#7445
Available online at: http://www.oecd-nea.org/hans/pubs/2018/7445-cssc-sweden-sv.pdf

Other language(s):
- English: Country-Specific Safety Culture Forum: Sweden
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Country-Specific Safety Culture Forum: Sweden
English, published: 09/13/18
NEA#7420
Available online at: http://www.oecd-nea.org/hans/pubs/2018/7420-cssc-sweden.pdf

Other language(s):
- Swedish: Swedish version of Country-Specific Safety Culture Forum: Sweden
One of the many important lessons learnt about nuclear safety over the years has been that
human aspects of nuclear safety are as important as any technical issue that may arise in
the course of nuclear operations. The international nuclear community can work together to
identify and address issues associated with components and systems and compare operational
experiences, but identifying how human behaviour affects safety and the best approaches to
examine this behaviour from country to country remains less common.
Practical experience has nevertheless shown that there are important differences in how people
work together and communicate across borders. People’s behaviours, attitudes and values
do not stop at the gate of a nuclear installation, and awareness of the systemic nature of
culture and its deeper aspects, such as the dynamics of how values and assumptions influence
behaviours, continues to evolve.
The NEA safety culture forum was created to gain a better understanding of how the national
context affects safety culture in a given country and how operators and regulators perceive
these effects in their day-to-day activities. The ultimate goal is to ensure safe nuclear operations.
The first NEA safety culture forum – a collaborative effort between the Nuclear Energy Agency
(NEA), the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) and the Swedish Radiation Safety
Authority (SSM) – was held in Sweden in early 2018. This report outlines the process used to
conduct the forum, reveals findings from the discussions and invites the nuclear community to
further reflect and take action.

2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | page top

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NEA Workshop on Stakeholder Involvement in Nuclear Decision Making
Summary Report
English, 83 pages, published: 10/16/17
NEA#7302
Available online at: http://www.oecd-nea.org/hans/pubs/2017/7302-stakeholder-workshop.pdf
Because nuclear issues are embedded in broader societal issues such as the environment, energy, risk
management, health policy and sustainability, they can often generate considerable interest and concern.
Actors involved in the nuclear energy sector, including regulators, governments and licensees, share
the goal of reaching accepted, sustainable decisions and to ensure that the decision-making process
is transparent. Stakeholder involvement in decision making is today seen as an essential means for
improving decisions and for optimising their implementation.

In this context, the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) organised a Workshop on Stakeholder Involvement in
Nuclear Decision Making in January 2017, acknowledging that different countries and sectors may face
similar challenges and that sharing experiences and approaches could be useful. The workshop was an
opportunity to bring together experts with first-hand knowledge and experience in areas related to
nuclear law, regulatory practices, radiological protection, nuclear waste management, the deployment of
new nuclear facilities, extended operation of nuclear facilities, deployment of other energy technologies
and infrastructures, and social and traditional media.

This summary report attempts to capture the collective wisdom generated over three days of interaction.
It highlights some commonalities and differences in views and approaches, and identifies particular
lessons that can be applied to improve the strategy and practice of involving stakeholders in decision
making. Overall, the learning gained from this workshop can benefit governments and citizens alike.
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Mentoring a Future Generation of Female Leaders in Science and Engineering
English, 13 pages, published: 10/16/17
NEA#7403
Available online at: http://www.oecd-nea.org/hans/pubs/2017/mentoring-report-japan-2017.pdf
Despite progress over the past decades, women remain under-represented in executive positions in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Female students tend to do very well in math and science early in their academic careers but often take other career paths. Many countries are working to close the gender gap and are developing policies to reverse this trend. However, considering the increasing demand worldwide for skilled workers in all areas of science and technology, including in the nuclear energy sector, more advocacy is needed to encourage the next generation and to capture their interest in these fields. It is in this spirit that the NEA partnered with Japan’s National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology (QST) to organise a mentoring workshop on July 25-26, 2017 in Chiba, Japan.