Education and Training of Safety Regulation for Nuclear Safety Infrastructure: Its Necessity and Unique Features

Faced with global warming and electricity demands, countries over the world recognize the comparative advantages of nuclear energy. It is estimated that about 300 nuclear power plants (NPPs) expect to be constructed until 2030 worldwide. In addition, according to the IAEA, approximately 20 new countries might have their first NPP in operation by 2030 in the high projection compared with bout 5 new countries in the low projection. When introducing nuclear power, the implementation of an appropriate infrastructure to address all of the relevant issues is a central concern of international community. In particular, nuclear power program requires, at an earlier stage than when construction starts, the development of a legal and regulatory framework and training of regulators and safety experts whose combined knowledge adequately covers all areas of nuclear safety and regulation applied at a NPP construction and operation. As an essential component of such human resource development, special attention was paid to the provision of education and training to regulators of which countries plan to introduce NPPs. In term of education theory, safety regulation has some unique features in learning and teaching, which are different from those of nuclear engineering or development. This paper overviews nuclear safety infrastructure, explores the roles of exporting countries, and presents features and components in education of nuclear safety regulation