The Year in Review
¢ reactor coming on-line. However, construction
Atomic Energy Agency continues to serve as started on ten new reactors — the largest number
the focal point for worldwide cooperation in the in any one year since 1985. Altogether, there were
peaceful uses of nuclear technology, for promoting 44 nuclear power reactors under construction at
global nuclear safety and security and, through its the end of 2008 and a total of 438 in operation,
supplying about 14% of the world’s electricity.
international obligations to use nuclear material and Current expansion, as well as near term and long
facilities for peaceful purposes are being complied term growth prospects, remained centred in Asia.
with. What follows is Of the ten construction
a survey of ‘nuclear starts in 2008, eight were
“Current expansion, as well as near term and long
developments’ around in this region, as were
term growth prospects, remained centred in Asia.”
the world in 2008, and 28 of the 44 reactors
¢ under construction at
work of the Agency, within the framework of the the end of the year. Moreover, 28 of the last 39 new
three pillars of technology, safety and security, and reactors to have been connected to the grid were
in Asia. Looking at individual countries, China
targets for nuclear power. In 2008, six of the ten
Technology construction starts were in China. India’s planned
¡
Nuclear Power, Nuclear Fuel Cycle and programme over the next two decades is expected to
Sustainable Development be facilitated by the removal by suppliers in 2008 of
restrictions on the supply of nuclear technology that
Nuclear Power: Status and Trends were previously imposed on it. Targets were raised
The year 2008 was paradoxical for nuclear power. power capacity by 2020. The United States Nuclear
Projections of future growth were revised upward, Regulatory Commission received combined licence
but no new reactors were connected to the grid — applications for 18 new reactors, bringing the total
¢ number of new reactors under review to 26.
800
700
600
500
GW e
400
300
200
100
0
1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030
History 2003 Low 2008 Low 2003 High 2008 High
FIG. 1. Comparison of projections made in 2003 and 2008 for installed global nuclear power capacity.
The Year in Review 1
In 2008, the Agency revised upward its medium under Agency auspices, in the event of supply
disruptions. In September 2006, the Nuclear Threat
¢ ¢
1 The International
Energy Agency also raised its projections.2 million by Member States. By the end of the year,
contributions and pledges to support the possible
Innovative Nuclear Technologies establishment of an Agency reserve of low enriched
¢ ¢
The Agency continued to facilitate coordination
and information sharing in the area of technology
¢ ¢
compiled the expectations of developing countries million needed for that purpose.3 Also in 2008,
in the form of ‘common user considerations’ for progress was made on other proposals related to
appropriate designs to be developed in the near assurances of fuel supply made by Member States.4
term. Six countries completed assessments of ¢
innovative nuclear multilateral enrichment
systems using the sanctuary project,5 and
“In 2008, there were a number of positive responses
evaluation methodology the Russian Federation’s
to the proposal of the Director General to establish
developed by the initiative to establish
a nuclear fuel reserve ..., under Agency auspices, in
Agency’s International an LEU reserve to be
the event of supply disruptions.”
Project on Innovative provided to the Agency,
Nuclear Reactors and upon its request, for use
¢ by Member States,6 which would be located at an
completed a similar joint study. The results will be international uranium enrichment centre in Angarsk.
used to update the INPRO methodology.
The Generation IV International Forum, or GIF, Launching Nuclear Power Programmes
the world’s leading nuclear technology nations to While every country has the right to use
develop next generation nuclear energy systems nuclear power as an energy source, it also has the
to meet future energy needs. In 2008, China signed responsibility to ensure that this energy source is
a ‘system arrangement’ for joint work on very high employed in a safe and secure manner. In 2008,
temperature reactors. France, Japan and the USA interest continued to grow among Member States
are harmonizing work on prototype sodium cooled in starting nuclear power programmes. This
fast reactors. Other projects are under way on
system integration, safety and operation, advanced Agency assistance in analysing energy options
fuel, balance of plant, and the ‘global actinide cycle
international demonstration’. In October, the Agency
3 By March 2009, the required matching contributions
and GIF organized a workshop on the application of
made by Kuwait.
temperature gas cooled reactors. 4 The proposals were listed in Possible New Framework
for the Utilization of Nuclear Energy: Options for Assurance
Assurances of Supply of Supply of Nuclear Fuel Report by the Director General
5 Communication dated 30 May 2008 received from the
In 2008, there were a number of positive
responses to the proposal of the Director General Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany to the
Agency with regard to the German proposal for a Multilateral
to establish a nuclear fuel reserve of last resort, Enrichment Sanctuary Project ¢
Communication dated 22 September 2008 received
from the Permanent Mission of Germany to the Agency
1 regarding the German proposal on a Multilateral Enrichment
capacity. Sanctuary Project
2 All of these revisions were made before the onset of 6 Communication dated 13 March 2009 received from the
Resident Representative of the Russian Federation to the IAEA
projections were available that have analysed the impact on the Russian initiative to establish a guaranteed reserve of
of the crisis on the growth of nuclear power. low enriched uranium
2 Annual Report 2008
and in preparing for the introduction of nuclear
¢ ¢
expressed interest in considering the introduction of be more conservative than those of vendors;
nuclear power. The number of approved technical ¢ ¢
cooperation projects on analysing energy options international market prices for steel, cement and
went up, from 29 in 2006–2007 to 41 in 2008, ¢
while the number of projects on considering the construction experience, and thus possibly higher
introduction of nuclear power increased from 13 to ¢
44 during the same period.
The Agency conducted four missions in 2008 — a buyers market to a suppliers market as a result of
to the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of greater interest in nuclear power.7
the Gulf, Nigeria, the Philippines and Sudan — to It is as yet too soon to predict how the current
advise on their consideration of nuclear power. In ¢
December, the Agency introduced a new Integrated ¢ ¢
have built their energy planning capacity using the
goal is to assist States in adopting a comprehensive Agency’s tools can reassess their plans as needed
and integrated approach to the introduction of based on their own projections of how these trends
nuclear power. The service will help States in develop.
determining the status of their infrastructure,
analysing gaps in the planning process and Human Resource Issues
focusing assistance. In addition, the Agency
published Evaluation of the Status of National Nuclear A number of countries have expressed their
Infrastructure Development and held a workshop to concern about the possible lack of skilled workers
discuss the evaluation guidance. needed for the future introduction or expansion of
nuclear power. However, data are scarce on both
Energy Assessment Services, Nuclear the size of the skilled workforce available today and
Investment Costs and Financing the number of training programmes. Quantitative
estimates of future needs are also scarce. In countries
There was increased demand for Agency with established nuclear power programmes,
assistance in assessing national and regional energy past reductions in the skilled workforce have
systems and energy strategies; its analytical tools varied according to the size of the nuclear power
are now being used programme, with the
in 115 Member States paradoxical result that
“There was increased demand for Agency assistance
and six international
in assessing national and regional energy systems
organizations. In 2008, shortages generally
and energy strategies ...”
the Agency trained 402 appear to be lower in
energy analysts and countries with faster
planners from 58 countries in the use of its analytical growing programmes. Worries about possible
tools. To expand its capacity to meet the increased shortages have prompted initiatives by government
demand for training, and following a successful ¢ ¡
pilot project, the Agency in 2008 introduced
‘technology supported learning’ using multimedia example, largely as a result of the University Reactor
training packages for distance learning and the Infrastructure and Education Assistance Program,
cyber platforms of the Asian Network for Education the overall number of nuclear engineering degrees
¢
American Energy Organization. In 2008, the Agency provided training, assistance
For a country contemplating the introduction missions and guidance to support both the planning
of nuclear power, the high capital costs are an for and development of human resources. Its INIR
important consideration. Cost estimates have
¢
7 The economic considerations involved in building
nuclear power plants are detailed in an Agency report
¢ ¢ entitled Financing of New Nuclear Power Plants
¡ ¢
The Year in Review 3
FIG. 2. Nuclear engineering degrees obtained at US universities (source: OECD/NEA).
service reviews human resource needs for countries on uranium exploration and mining has doubled. As
considering the introduction of nuclear power. ¢
In addition, the Agency completed two reports, best practices through workshops for new uranium
Commissioning of Nuclear Power Plants: Training and producers, an education and training network
Human Resource Considerations and Managing Human for the uranium cycle, and the preparation of
Resources in the Field of Nuclear Energy, both in the reference publications. In 2008, the Agency assisted
IAEA Nuclear Energy Series. uranium mine developers, operators and regulators
in improving their capacities to deal with the
Uranium Supply Issues environmental consequences of mining, including
the remediation of sites, as well as the associated
The 22nd edition of the OECD/NEA–IAEA’s public concerns.
Uranium 2007: Resources, Production and Demand
Improving the Utilization of Research
Reactors
growth in exploration activities worldwide. The
report noted that resources would last 83 years at The number of operating research reactors is
the current rate of consumption. This compares projected to decrease from the current level of 245
favourably to reserves to production ratios of 30–50 to between 100 and 150 in 2020. New research reac-
¢ £ tors will continue to be built, although not as fast
as old ones are retired. To help ensure broad access
grow, and resources in the ground need to be mined. -
¡ tional cooperation, the Agency began establishing a
uranium production number of regional net-
facilities could satisfy works in 2008, including
“As interest in uranium mining has increased in
requirements in the the Eastern European
countries that are new to the mining of this resource,
Agency’s high projection Research Reactor Initia-
the number of Agency technical cooperation projects
until about 2025. For the -
on uranium exploration and mining has doubled.”
longer term, preliminary bean Research Reactor
Coalition, the Mediterra-
uranium resources in the ground. However, their nean Research Reactor Utilization Network and the
¢ Baltic Research Reactor Utilization Network.
considerations and public acceptance of nuclear The Agency in 2008 increased the number of
power. technical cooperation projects supporting research
As interest in uranium mining has increased in reactors from four to ten for the project cycle starting
countries that are new to the mining of this resource,
the number of Agency technical cooperation projects infrastructure, the Agency and EERRI developed
4 Annual Report 2008
a training course to help build up the necessary farmers in some of the world’s most remote regions
human resources.
introduction of nuclear technologies. In southern
Nuclear Fusion Peru, the Tacna and Moquegua regions were
declared free of the Mediterranean and Anastrepha
energy recorded a number of milestones in 2008. in fruit and vegetable production, and contributing
In February, the ITER International Fusion Energy
£ £ ¢ was achieved through the area-wide application
for a construction permit to build the International
Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor in Cadarache, the culmination of over two decades of work by
France. Massive ground development work is governments and institutions.
already under way to construct facilities that will The Agency encouraged private sector
house the sophisticated equipment for ITER. In involvement in the production of sterile insects
addition, the ITER Organization and the Agency for use in pest control by developing A Model
signed a cooperation agreement in October to Business Plan for a Sterile Insect Production Facility.
facilitate interactions with Member States. For example, a technical cooperation pilot project
The 22nd IAEA Fusion Energy Conference was in South Africa led to the establishment of a private
held in October in Geneva to commemorate and sector company and a mass rearing facility that uses
review 50 years of international progress in this area. SIT to control the false codling moth, an insect pest
of citrus crops.
Nuclear Applications ¢
release in 2008 of 41 mutant varieties from 13
The application of nuclear technologies in the crop species in more than 10 countries, a direct
areas of food security, disease prevention and con- ¢
trol, water resources and environmental manage- mutation assisted breeding in over a dozen institutes
ment has increasing and laboratories
importance in the world worldwide. For instance,
today. In 2008, the “The Agency’s coordinated research activities the Agency supported
Agency strengthened resulted in advanced mutant lines being developed a wheat breeding
its partnerships, res- by national breeding programmes ..., increasing programme in Kenya
ponding to the world’s the nutritional value of tomato, sweet pepper and that released a mutant
food, environmental and mustard.” variety, which, under
cancer crises by enhanc- drought conditions,
ing State and regional yields 11% more than
capacities to use relevant technologies for sustain- the best varieties currently available. The Agency’s
able solutions. coordinated research activities resulted in advanced
mutant lines being developed by national breeding
Food Security programmes in Bulgaria, China and Pakistan,
increasing the nutritional value of tomato, sweet
In 2008, the world faced a growing food pepper and mustard.
crisis, with FAO estimating that the number of There was progress in developing techniques
undernourished people had grown to approximately for the early and rapid diagnosis of transboundary
960 million. Food commodity prices went up during animal diseases, including diseases that can be
the year, causing immense hardship to people in transferred to humans. More than 60 Member States
many developing countries. Factors contributing to received support and technical guidance in such
¡ areas as diagnostic and vaccine technologies and
¢ preventive measures.
of fresh water, transboundary animal and plant To help European Member States control the
pests and diseases, loss of biodiversity as well as ¢
increasing demand for biofuels. in the Russian Federation on the latest diagnostic
One of the responses to this crisis has been the and treatment technologies. In addition, the Agency
application of advanced technology. For example, assisted Belize in protecting its poultry sector,
The Year in Review 5
primarily by enhancing its diagnostic capacity to With one of the largest freshwater reserves on
£ the continent, this aquifer, which extends across
disease, which was prevalent in the country. Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, covers
In 2008, more than 16 Member States requested an area more than twice the size of France, with 90
the assistance of the Agency in using post-harvest million people living in this region. In addition, the
phytosanitary applications of food irradiation to Agency — in partnership with the GEF — initiated
meet quarantine requirements and to facilitate a project in 2008 to facilitate the sharing of water
international trade in fresh produce. In the area resources among the riparian countries of the Nile
of food safety, the Agency developed analytical Basin in Africa.
methods and procedures to detect and monitor With the need for global and regional isotope
chemical hazards. data increasing dramatically, the Agency expanded
its isotope networks. In addition, over 80 technical
Water Resources cooperation projects focused on local and national
water supply and quality problems.
is still far from preventing the unsustainable use of Medical Applications of
water resources. In this regard, the management Radiopharmaceuticals
of transboundary water resources — which
extend across country borders and include both The isotope technetium-99m, derived from
¢
¢ used in some 80% of all diagnostic nuclear medicine
concern, not only because of overutilization and procedures around the world. It is injected into
pollution problems, but also because these shared patients undergoing cardiac stress tests or body
scans for cancer, heart disease and bone or kidney
countries. Globally, over 260 transboundary river illnesses. This medical radioisotope is currently
¢ produced only in a few ageing research reactors. The
are equally important, but until recently were uncertainty of this supply situation was underlined
¢ in 2008 when the
¢ simultaneous outages
“... the Agency — in partnership with the GEF —
around the world to of three medical isotope
initiated a project in 2008 to facilitate the sharing of
map them, and so far 89 production facilities
water resources among the riparian countries of the
transboundary aquifers in Europe resulted in
Nile Basin in Africa.”
a worldwide shortage
Europe alone. of technetium-99m. An
Managing transboundary water resources unexpected outage extension of a Canadian research
can be extremely challenging, particularly in the reactor resulted in a similar shortage in late 2007
absence of hydrological information upon which ¢
to make informed decisions. Agency activities, this problem included the initiation of a CRP and
¢ close interaction with governments and industry.
data using isotope techniques, focused on There is growing global consensus that technology
improving the understanding of the distribution using LEU to produce molybdenum-99 is both
and renewability of groundwater resources. In this ¢ ¢
regard, in 2008 it cooperated with UNESCO, the
International Association of Hydrogeologists and Facilitating the Development of
£ ¢ Comprehensive Cancer Control Programmes
groundwater resources.
Partnering with the Global Environment Facility The world’s incidence of cancer doubled during
£ the last three decades of the 20th century and
World Bank, and national counterparts, the Agency continues to increase, with cancer predicted to
completed a project where isotope hydrology become the leading cause of death around the world
was used to assess the key characteristics of and by 2010. While age adjusted cancer incidence and
develop a sustainable management approach for the death rates have begun to decrease in high income
transboundary Guarani Aquifer in South America.
6 Annual Report 2008
FIG. 3. President Jakaya Kikwete of the United Republic of Tanzania (left) at the official inauguration of a radiotherapy
machine donated through PACT.
will bear the brunt of the increase. WHO estimates cancer control programme in Ghana, with Agency
that without intervention, more than 100 million assistance. Direct fundraising by PACT resulted in
people will die in the next ten years. Currently, more
than 70% of all cancer deaths already occur in LMI Highlights from the implementation of PACT
countries, where resources for prevention, diagnosis
and treatment are limited or are non-existent. included the dedication by the President of the
To ensure high quality in the diagnosis and treat- United Republic of Tanzania of a radiotherapy
ment of cancer and other diseases, the IAEA–WHO
dosimetry audit service machine donated to the
reviewed approximately PMDS in Nicaragua was
“The Agency advised Member States in planning,
450 hospital beams and installed in 2008.8 And
preparing and establishing PET centres and in
resolved 25 discrepan- a tripartite agreement
building up the requisite human resources.”
cies. Several quality con- was concluded by
trol/quality assurance which India will donate
manuals on imaging were also approved for publica- a ‘Bhabhatron’ teletherapy machine to support
tion. Vietnam’s PMDS initiatives.
With the aim of strengthening its Programme
¢ ¢ ¢
formalized partnership agreements with four ¢
leading international cancer organizations and cancer management programmes in Member States.
£ While there are currently more than 1000 PET
Programme on Cancer Control with WHO. centres in North America and Western Europe, there
The Agency conducted 11 imPACT missions in are only around 50 such centres in Latin America
and fewer than 10 in Africa, underlining the need
control capacity, and to develop and implement for greater assistance in these regions. The Agency
recommendations for comprehensive national advised Member States in planning, preparing
cancer control programmes. In total, 57 Member and establishing PET centres and in building up
States have requested such imPACT reviews. the requisite human resources. Nuclear medicine
£ activities also emphasized the use of these and
million in long term development loans from the
OPEC Fund for Development and the Arab Bank 8 Both radiotherapy machines were donated by MDS
for Economic Development in Africa to build a Nordion/Best Medical International.
The Year in Review 7
other nuclear technologies in the diagnosis and radiotracers were used on commercially important
treatment of cardiovascular disorders. And the
Agency continued to support the establishment
and operation of medical cyclotron facilities and the elements such as cadmium and zinc — commonly
production of PET tracers. found in marine ecosystems — under future
ocean chemistry scenarios. The presence of these
Environment contaminants is expected to increase in the future as
a result of industrial growth.
Challenges and threats to the marine and terres- At the second international symposium on the
trial environment, such as climate change and pol- ‘Ocean in a High CO2 World’, held in Monaco
lution, are of growing in October 2008, the
concern. Raising aware- ‘Monaco Declaration’
“In 2008, the Agency focused on the impacts
ness about the need to was signed by 155 coun-
encourage the sustain- tries. This declaration
and contaminants, including radionuclides, in
able development of
natural resources in all to combat carbon diox-
biodiversity.”
countries is essential. ide driven ocean acidi-
In 2008, the Agency
that is expected to be a leading cause in the future
increased temperatures, and contaminants, includ- decline of global marine ecosystems.
ing radionuclides, in the marine environment on
¢ study of radionuclides, the Agency developed
The role of nuclear techniques to predict new parameters and models of radionuclide
socioeconomic outcomes and support environmental transfer in terrestrial and freshwater environments
mitigation in the marine environment was another for use, among others, by regulators engaged in
important area of research in 2008. For example, environmental impact assessments.
Ocean chlorophyll concentration (mg/m3)
0.03 0.1 0.3 1 3 10 30
FIG. 4. As part of a technical cooperation project, the Agency monitored ocean chlorophyll concentrations, which influence
harmful algal blooms, off the coast of El Salvador (photograph courtesy of NASA).
8 Annual Report 2008
o t te
nd int Was
he
ter ioac ort
es
es
e
iso g
en ty
top
Ma Rad ansp
Gr pos ctive
tiv
dio dlin
tte
s
ard ty
om ion
am Safe
tal
gra SS
nd afe
e
e
mi
tec on
d C iss
Pro diati r
Ra an
mm
mm
n
s
Ra S fo
ou al
Dis dioa
of fe Tr
Pro DWA
tio
Sta sic S
Fu ified
of fe H
an mm
ial
Pro SS
gra
BS
Ra
Sa
nd
NU
RA
Co
Un
Ba
Sa
1958 1961 1962 1965 1974 1988 1996 1996 2006
FIG. 5. Evolution of the Agency’s safety standards.
Nuclear Safety and Security infrastructure appropriate for nuclear power. While
the Agency is not the only organization providing
Status of Nuclear Safety and Security assistance to these new entrants, it is well placed to
The safety and security of civil nuclear that new nuclear power programmes are safe and
installations around the world in recent years has secure.
remained at a high level. However, it is important to
avoid complacency. As the uses and the introduction Conventions, Standards and Guidance
of nuclear technologies expand, greater vigilance
must be exercised by the global nuclear community. Even though all of the international safety and
Levels of safety and security must keep pace with security conventions recorded additional parties in
emerging technologies, 2008, participation in
expanding nuclear these conventions is by
“... the Agency is ... well placed to coordinate
programmes and new no means universal; this
entrants to the global 9
nuclear power programmes are safe and secure.”
nuclear community. This is of particular
Safety and security concern with regard
are primarily the responsibility of the State, but the to the Amendment to the Convention on the
far reaching consequences of possible accidents or Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, which was
nuclear terrorist acts have led to the recognition that ¢ ¢
strong global arrangements to address these risks Party, far short of the number required to bring the
are necessary. The Agency plays an important role, amendment into force.
supporting the development and implementation In 2008, Contracting Parties to the Convention
of international conventions and codes of conduct, on Nuclear Safety held their fourth review meeting
helping to establish international standards and in which they, inter alia, recognized that the
guidelines, helping Member States through peer Agency’s Safety Requirements and supporting
review missions to enhance their national safety and
security infrastructures, and supporting regional 9 By the end of 2008, the Convention on Nuclear
and global knowledge networks. An example of Safety had 62 Contracting Parties; the Convention
this role is the proposed European Union Directive ¢
¢ Contracting Parties; the Convention on Assistance in the
Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency
is based in part on the Agency’s Fundamental Safety
had 101 Contracting Parties; the Joint Convention on
Principles. the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety
An increasing number of Member States are of Radioactive Waste Management had 46 Contracting
considering a nuclear power programme for the Parties; the Convention on the Physical Protection of
Nuclear Material had 138 Contracting Parties; and
¢
the Amendment to the Convention on the Physical
safety and security infrastructure for their current Protection of Nuclear Material had 22 Contracting
nuclear applications, but do not yet have the States.
The Year in Review 9
guides are increasingly being implemented in Another mechanism used in 2008 for improving
national legislation. Contracting Parties to the international regulatory communication is a
Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel network for sharing information among Member
Management and on the Safety of Radioactive State regulatory bodies. This network is in the early
Waste Management held an organizational meeting stages of development and has strong support from
in preparation for their third review meeting in a number of Member States.
2009.
The Agency’s safety standards and security Incident and Emergency Preparedness and
guidance advise States on how to meet their Response and Seismic Safety
international obligations. They also support States
in meeting their national safety and security By the end of 2008, 14 Member States had
objectives. In 2008, the Agency celebrated the 50th registered their expert capabilities with the Agency’s
anniversary of its safety standards programme. Response Assistance Network. In July 2008, an
Since the Safe Handling of Radioisotopes was issued ¢ ¡ ¡
in December 1958, more than 200 safety standards international response to a simulated accident at a
nuclear power plant. The Agency used its Incident
The Agency continued to assist Member States ¢
in assessing their safety point for international
and security needs and communication and
“The Agency, together with WHO and professional
vulnerabilities. In more response during the
than 150 safety review, exercise. One outcome
to minimize unintended exposures in medical
security review and
procedures.”
expert missions and in order to successfully
more than 170 work-
shops, seminars and training courses in 2008, the ¢
Agency helped Member States appraise national Conventions in the event of a large nuclear accident,
application of safety standards and security the IEC requires additional human resources as well
guidelines and provided appropriate advice and as improvements in equipment and technology.
assistance. Recent extreme earthquakes and other natural
events have demonstrated the need to reevaluate
Integrated Regulatory Review Service the safety of existing and future nuclear power
plant designs. In 2008, the Agency established the
The Integrated Regulatory Review Service International Seismic Safety Centre. Supported by a
¡
mechanism for sharing regulatory knowledge and serves as a focal point for seismic safety at nuclear
experience among senior regulators. In 2008, IRRS installations worldwide.
missions visited Botswana, Côte d’Ivoire, Germany,
Guatemala, Madagascar, Namibia, Sierra Leone, Radiation Safety in Medical Applications
Spain and Ukraine. The modular nature of the IRRS
enabled the scope of the service to be tailored to the Medical radiation exposures have increased
needs and desires of each Member State. ¢
One of the major goals of the IRRS is to promote rapidly evolving, with increasingly advanced
high quality self-assessments. To this end, the medical radiation technologies and a growing
Agency developed a methodology that not only complexity of techniques.
supports the IRRS, but can also be used for other Accidents during medical procedures, some
self-assessment activities. The Agency also assisted fatal, continue to occur at an unacceptably high
the Islamic Republic of Iran, Lebanon, Peru, frequency. The Agency, together with WHO and
Ukraine and Vietnam with their self-assessments in
preparation for IRRS missions to these countries. the world to minimize unintended exposures in
The Spanish Nuclear Safety Council hosted a medical procedures. For example, through its
workshop in Seville in November 2008 to discuss technical cooperation programme, it introduced
¢ ¢ assessment methodologies for clinical audits in
bodies using feedback from IRRS missions. radiation medicine and diagnostic radiology in
10 Annual Report 2008
several Member States. In addition, international
May 2008 marked an important milestone in
exposure to radiation for medical workers, which ¢
has reached high levels for some modalities. international nuclear liability regime. To date, 13
countries have signed the CSC.10 The CSC will
Denials and Delays of Shipment ¢
Denials and delays of the shipment of radioactive of thermal power from nuclear reactors have
material continue to occur in all parts of the world.
of Shipment of Radioactive Material, set up by the Nuclear Security
Agency in 2006, continues to guide international
£ States continued to give high priority to the
workshops on establishing regional networks to deal threat of a malicious act involving nuclear or other
with the issue. It also oversaw the establishment of radioactive material. In helping them to address
a database for denials of shipment, receiving more these concerns, the Agency in 2008 supported
than 100 denial reports by the end of 2008. improvements to physical protection measures in
over 15 States, provided training to more than 1700
people from approximately 90 States in all aspects
of nuclear security, and assisted in recovering
In 2008, the Agency completed an updated safety more than 1500 disused radioactive sources and
moving them to safe and secure national storage
This publication covers facilities. Nearly 600
all types of radioactive pieces of radiation
“... the Agency in 2008 ... assisted in recovering more
waste and recognizes detection equipment
than 1500 disused radioactive sources and moving
the clearance concept for were delivered to 24
them to safe and secure national storage facilities.”
identifying the bound- States, in some cases in
ary between waste that association with Agency
needs to be managed as radioactive waste and that training in the use of such equipment.
which can be removed from regulatory control for Assisting States by establishing nuclear security
management as conventional waste. information tools continued to be a high priority.
During the year, ten States approved Integrated
Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage ¢
developed by the Agency as a blueprint for nuclear
¢ security work to be implemented over time.
mechanisms in place to insure against harm to ¢
human health and the environment, as well as Database, an information resource covering
actual economic loss caused by nuclear damage, £
nuclear and other radioactive material, grew from
among Member States, especially in light of the 99 to 104 States.
renewed interest in nuclear power around the The Agency’s nuclear security programme
world. The International Expert Group on Nuclear continued to depend very heavily on
¢ ¢ extrabudgetary funds from a few Member States
main forum for dealing with questions related to
nuclear liability and seeks to contribute towards received from 11 Member States and the European
Union, and a number of other States made
international nuclear liability instruments adopted contributions in kind through the donation of
under the auspices of the Agency. INLEX outreach equipment and services. Though these contributions
activities included the 3rd Regional Workshop on are important, many continue to have conditions
Liability for Nuclear Damage for African countries,
held in South Africa in February 2008. 10 Argentina, Australia, the Czech Republic, Indonesia,
The deposit by the USA of its instrument of Italy, Lebanon, Lithuania, Morocco, Peru, the Philippines,
¢ Romania, Ukraine and the USA.
The Year in Review 11
which, combined with the lack of predictable and The Technical Cooperation Programme in
assured funding for the Nuclear Security Fund 2008
¢ ¢ During 2008, the main focus of activities in
the programme in accordance with the requests of
Member States. the technical capacity of national and regional
institutions and resource centres for applications
Nuclear Security at Major Public Events in health, agriculture, environmental protection
and energy. In Africa, the Agency supported 37
The Agency continued to help States to meet the Member States in developing technical, managerial
nuclear security challenges associated with hosting and institutional capacities in nuclear science
major public events. This assistance included and technology and applications. The Agency
training, detection emphasized human
equipment, knowledge resources development
“The Agency’s technical cooperation programme
sharing and information and the promotion of
is one of the principal mechanisms for promoting
support. In what was technical cooperation
tangible socioeconomic impacts in Member States
the largest security between developing
and ensuring that nuclear technology is used in a
project in which it countries using African
safe, secure and peaceful manner.”
has been involved, resource institutions,
the Agency worked notably those under the
with the Chinese authorities to ensure nuclear AFRA programme. In Latin America, the Agency
¢ ¢ ¢ supported 22 Member States in the areas of human
also provided security support to the Peruvian health, food and agriculture, and radiation and
authorities for the Latin American and Caribbean– transport safety. In Europe, fuel repatriation, core
conversion and related research reactor upgrades
Economic Cooperation CEO Summit. and activities continued in 2008. The Agency also
supported countries interested in starting a nuclear
Technical Cooperation
Financial Resources
The Agency’s technical cooperation programme
is one of the principal mechanisms for promoting The technical cooperation programme is funded
tangible socioeconomic impacts in Member States by contributions to the TCF, as well as through
and ensuring that nuclear technology is used extrabudgetary contributions, government cost
in a safe, secure and peaceful manner. Through sharing and contributions in kind. Overall, new
this programme the Agency supports the use of
appropriate nuclear science and technology to ¡¢
address major sustainable development priorities at ¡¢
the national, regional and interregional levels.
Support is delivered principally in six thematic These resources were applied directly to technical
areas: human health; agricultural productivity cooperation projects.
and food security; water resources management; 11 stood at 94.7% at
environmental protection; physical and chemical the end of the year, while payment of national
applications; and sustainable energy development.
¢
security. In so doing, the programme supports the
achievement of the United Nations Millennium
Development Goals. The programme is developed
in close collaboration with Member States, 11 ¢
from initial formulation to implementation and taking the total voluntary contributions paid to the TCF
by Member States for a particular year and dividing them
evaluation, ensuring that the programme goals and
by the TCF target for the same year. As payments can be
objectives are aligned with the development goals ¢
and objectives of the Member States. can increase over time.
12 Annual Report 2008
Other
3.0% Human Health
27.0%
Nuclear Power
4.0%
Safety of Nuclear
Installations
4.1%
Environment Food and Agriculture
4.3% 14.1%
Water Resources
4.7%
Nuclear Science
6.0%
Management of
Radiation and Radioactive Waste
Transport Safety 9.5%
7.7% Management of
Radioisotope Technical Cooperation
Production and for Development
Radiation Technology 7.9%
7.9%
FIG. 6. Distribution of technical cooperation disbursements in 2008 by Agency programme (percentages in this chart may
not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding).
12 ¢ For example, health projects in Africa concentrate
out the core technical cooperation programme as on the management of cancer, the development of
capabilities for nuclear medicine investigations and
‘footnote-a/’13 components of projects remained the control of communicable human diseases.
unfunded in 2008.
Verification
Disbursements
A major pillar of the Agency’s programme
¡¢ provides assurances to the international community
disbursed to 123 countries or territories, of which regarding the peaceful use of nuclear material and
¢
¢
development needs of the world’s poorest States. proliferation of nuclear weapons and move towards
Human health remains the single overriding nuclear disarmament.
priority in all regions in the technical cooperation At the end of each year, the Agency draws
programme, accounting for 27% of the budget. a safeguards conclusion for each State with a
safeguards agreement in force, based upon the
12 National participation costs: Member States evaluation of all information available to it for that
receiving technical assistance are assessed a charge of year. For a ‘broader conclusion’ to be drawn that ‘all
5% of their national programme, including national nuclear material remained in peaceful activities’,
both a comprehensive safeguards agreement
regional or interregional activities. At least half of the
assessed amount for the programme must be paid before
contractual arrangements for the projects may be made. in force, and the Agency must have been able to
13 Footnote-a/: Projects that are awaiting funding or ¢
are partially funded by the TCF. activities. For States that have CSAs in force but no
The Year in Review 13
¢
draw credible safeguards conclusions regarding ¢
the absence of undeclared nuclear material and these four States, the Agency concluded that nuclear
activities. For such States, the Agency draws a material to which safeguards were applied in
safeguards conclusion, for a given year, with respect selected facilities remained in peaceful activities or
to whether declared nuclear material remained in was withdrawn as provided for in the agreements.
peaceful activities. The Secretariat could not draw any safeguards
For those States for which the broader conclusion conclusions for 30 NPT non-nuclear-weapon States
has been drawn and a State level integrated without safeguards agreements in force.
safeguards approach has been approved, the
Secretariat is able to implement integrated four reports to the Board of Governors on the
safeguards, the optimum combination of all implementation of the NPT safeguards agreement
safeguards measures available to the Agency under and relevant United Nations Security Council
¡
¢ ¢ The Agency was able to verify the non-diversion
obligations. of the declared nuclear material in Iran in 2008. As
Iran has not provided the information and access
Safeguards Conclusions for 2008 that would have allowed the Agency to make
progress on a number of outstanding issues related
In 2008, safeguards were applied for 163 States to Iran’s past nuclear activities, and as Iran has not
with safeguards agreements in force with the implemented its AP, the Agency remained unable
Agency.14 Eighty-four States had both CSAs and to draw a conclusion regarding the absence of
APs in force. For 51 undeclared nuclear
of these States, 15 the material and activities
“In 2008, safeguards were applied for 163 States
Agency concluded that in Iran. Contrary to the
with safeguards agreements in force with the
all nuclear material decisions of the Security
Agency.”
remained in peaceful Council, Iran did not
activities. For 33 of suspend its uranium
the States, the Agency had not yet completed enrichment related activities and continued its
all the necessary evaluations under their APs, heavy water related projects.
and concluded that the declared nuclear material
remained in peaceful activities. For 70 States with to the Board of Governors on the implementation
CSAs in force but without APs, the Agency was of the Syrian Arab Republic’s NPT safeguards
able to draw the conclusion that declared nuclear agreement. In April 2008, the Agency was provided
material remained in peaceful nuclear activities. 16 with information alleging that an installation
Integrated safeguards were implemented during destroyed by Israel at Dair Alzour in Syria in 2007
2008 in 25 States. had been a nuclear reactor under construction. Syria
For three States that had safeguards agreements has stated that the Dair Alzour site was a military
based on INFCIRC/66/Rev. 2 in force in 2008, the site and was not involved in any nuclear activities.
Secretariat concluded that the nuclear material, The destruction of the building and the subsequent
facilities or other items to which safeguards were ¢
applied remained in peaceful activities. Safeguards ¡ ¢
were also implemented with regard to declared discussions with Syria in Damascus and visited the
nuclear material in selected facilities in four of the Dair Alzour site in June 2008. At the end of 2008, the
¢ ¢
14 The status with regard to the conclusion of safeguards Conclusion of Safeguards Agreements,
agreements, APs and small quantities protocols is given
in Table A6 in the Annex.
Additional Protocols and Small Quantities
15
Protocols (SQPs)
And Taiwan, China.
16 The 70 States do not include the Democratic People’s
The Secretariat continued to implement, in 2008,
Republic of Korea, as the Agency was not able to
implement safeguards in that State and, therefore, could its ‘Plan of Action to Promote the Conclusion of
not draw any conclusion. Safeguards Agreements and Additional Protocols’.
14 Annual Report 2008
Outreach events held in 2008 included: an technology, training and quality management were
interregional seminar for SQP States in Vienna; enhanced.
Research and development activities were carried
¢ out with the assistance of Member State support
Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on programmes for the development of safeguards
the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons; and a concepts, information processing and analysis,
regional seminar in Santo Domingo, Dominican
Republic. workshops were held to identify tools that would be
Additional protocols entered into force for two needed by the Agency to carry out its mission in the
States in 2008, bringing the number of States with future.
APs in force to 88. Three States acceded to the
safeguards agreement between non-nuclear-weapon ¢ ¢
States of Euratom, Euratom and the Agency, as well the current system with a modern platform,
the Integrated Safeguards Information System
the revised text for eight States. By the end of the Re-engineering Project reached its third and last
year, there were 61 States with operative SQPs still phase. Six of the 16 projects contained therein were
requiring amendment in accordance with the Board £
of Governors’ September 2005 decision. In 2008, the Secretariat continued to develop and
diversify sources of safeguards relevant information,
including — with the cooperation of Member States
— information on covert nuclear related trade. It
As authorized by the Board, the Agency imple- also continued to install digital surveillance systems
¢ ¡
its capabilities to transmit data directly from the
related to the shutdown of the Yongbyon nuclear
facilities and one facility at Taechon. These activi- The Agency continued to work with State systems
ties were partially discontinued from 22 Septem- of accounting for and control of nuclear material
ber to 13 October 2008
at the request of the implementation of safe-
“... a project on enhancing the capabilities of the
DPRK, resulting in a guards, with a particular
safeguards analytical services was presented to the
lack of access for Agency emphasis on assistance
Board of Governors in November 2008.”
inspectors to the Yong- activities such as SSAC
byon facilities and in the ¢
removal of Agency seals and surveillance equipment missions and regional technical meetings.
at the Radiochemical Laboratory. On 14 October In light of the deteriorating condition of the
2008, the Agency resumed its activities as envisaged Agency’s safeguards laboratories, a project on
- enhancing the capabilities of the safeguards
ments. The Agency found no indication that these analytical services was presented to the Board of
facilities had resumed operation during that period Governors in November 2008. This project is key
of time. to the Agency’s capability — and independence —
with regard to environmental sample and nuclear
¢
¢ ¢ project was designed to address the sustainability
Safeguards and enhancement of the Agency’s particle analysis
capabilities for environmental samples, while the
¢ second will address, in parallel, the future of the
¢ Nuclear Laboratory at the Safeguards Analytical
safeguards. For example, integrated safeguards were ¢
introduced in 12 States.17 In addition, safeguards cost of strengthening the Agency’s safeguards
approaches and procedures were developed, and ¢
The Government of Japan agreed to provide
extrabudgetary funding for the acquisition of
17 See footnote 15. an ultra-high sensitivity secondary ion mass
The Year in Review 15
spectrometer. However, additional funding is ¢
needed so that this equipment can be installed and For the Secretariat and Member States to be able
operated at SAL. to continue to move forward on all these fronts,
an active partnership and adequate resources
Management Issues ¢
reinforcing this partnership.
The Agency-wide Information System for Pro- An independent Commission of Eminent Persons
(CEP), appointed by the Director General to make
¢ recommendations for the future of the Agency up
delivery. It will also improve accountability, bring to the year 2020 and beyond, met twice in Vienna
greater transparency and improve internal control under the Chairmanship of Ernesto Zedillo, former
¢ - President of Mexico. The CEP comprised former
tions. The mobilization heads of government,
of resources for AIPS — ministers, top scientists
“The Agency-wide Information System for
an Enterprise Resource and diplomats, from
Programme Support (AIPS) is the centrepiece for
Planning System for the both developed and
¢
Agency — continued developing countries.
delivery.”
- Its report was published
cial support provided in May, presented to the
¢ Board of Governors in June by Chairman Zedillo,
and discussed at the September meeting of the
appropriate vendor. A detailed request for proposal Board. Some of the CEP’s key recommendations
was issued at the end of the year to the potential were that the Agency should: work with supplier
implementation partners. The target date for the and donor States to help ‘newcomer’ States put in
beginning of actual implementation is mid-2009. place the necessary infrastructure to launch nuclear
energy programmes safely, securely and peacefully;
give high priority to establishing multilateral fuel
the capability necessary to implement International cycle arrangements covering both the front and
back ends of the cycle; increase the resources of
¢ the TCF substantially; address the threat of nuclear
terrorism by encouraging States to negotiate binding
Looking to the Future ¢
In 2008, the Agency remained active in fostering a global nuclear safety network, also based on
international cooperation for the peaceful uses binding agreements; and strengthen its safeguards
of nuclear technologies, and in transferring these
technologies to developing countries. It continues funding, as well as more legal authority. The subject
of the future work of the Agency is now under
nuclear safety regime. And it has been laying the consideration by Member States.
16 Annual Report 2008