The trade group for the U.S. nuclear industry last week inked a formal cooperation agreement with the United Nations’ nuclear agency.
The “practical arrangement” between the Nuclear Energy Institute and the International Atomic Energy Agency provides for bilateral sharing of information and best practices on building, operating, and decommissioning nuclear power plants, according to an NEI press release. It also extends to fielding of nuclear technologies.
Another outcome will be increased communication between the U.S. nuclear industry and its counterparts around the world, according to Dan Lipman, NEI vice president for suppliers, new reactors, and international programs. He signed the agreement Thursday in Vienna, Austria, with IAEA Deputy Director General Mikhail Chudakov.
“Because of our largely private, nongovernmental nature, the U.S. nuclear industry has long been challenged in effectively engaging with the IAEA’s member state structure,” Lipman said in the release. “Through this practical arrangement, NEI will be able to help bridge this divide—enabling increased cooperation, exchange of information, experience and practice with the international nuclear community.”
Washington, D.C.-based NEI represents members across a broad swath of the nuclear industry, including nuclear utilities, reactor designers, medical isotope makers, fuel providers, and others. The IAEA, meanwhile, is the United Nations’ lead agency for promotion of the peaceful uses of atomic energy and deterrence of nuclear proliferation.
In a separate release, the U.N. agency listed seven distinct areas of anticipated cooperation with the Nuclear Energy Institute, including: enhancing capabilities for “safe, reliable and efficient construction, operation and decommissioning of current and future nuclear power plants”; generally in dismantlement and decommissioning of nuclear plants; and addressing technical and economic issues for nuclear power in IAEA member states with ongoing nuclear operations.
