The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Tuesday it would proceed with a major conference next week, even as other sizable events are being canceled as cases of coronavirus disease increase globally.
There were more than 2,200 registrants as of Monday for the agency’s Regulatory Information Conference, scheduled for March 10-12 in North Bethesda, Md., according to NRC spokesman David McIntyre.
“Keep in mind the conference is free, so anyone deciding not to come wouldn’t necessarily tell us,” he said by email. “Also, a large portion of that number would likely be NRC employees, and more can register onsite next week.”
Agency personnel and other participants are advised to adhere to guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on protecting themselves and tempering the spread of the virus, McIntyre added.
The conference will include plenary discussions with members of the commission, along with three days of technical sessions addressing various aspects of the NRC’s work as the regulator for U.S. commercial nuclear power and waste activities.
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause illnesses including the common cold, according to the WHO website. The novel coronavirus is a new strain not identified in humans before December 2019 in China. The Washington Post and other major news outlets reported Tuesday there were nine confirmed deaths in the United States linked to the coronavirus spread.
The outbreak has led to cancellation of a growing number of conferences, including IHS Markit’s CERAWeek 2020 energy conference scheduled for next week in Houston and a Google developer conference planned for May in Mountain View, Calif.
The Waste Management Symposia, a major international gathering of government and industry representatives on radioactive waste management, is going forward next week in Phoenix.
The event is taking a number of precautions, including having a medic on-site, and giving attendees hand sanitizer plus face masks upon request, according to a letter from an organizer.
“At this time there is no decree from the federal government on restrictions for conferences,” Symposia Chairman James Gallagher said in a Monday letter to sponsors and exhibitors for the international conference for the management of radioactive material.
The symposia’s technical sessions will start Monday if no additional government travel restrictions are established by the CDC and the World Health Organization, Gallagher wrote.
“We understand that there is a lot of fear and uncertainty right now as we are in the early stages of the outbreak and a lot is still unknown, however, we want to ensure we’ve making decision based on factual recommendations rather than rumor or fear,” he stated.
