OECD/NEA activities to enhance cooperation among technical organizations involved with nuclear safety assessment and research

The first priority for the member countries of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (OECD/NEA) is nuclear safety and regulation. This fact is clearly recognized in the OECD/NEA strategic plan for 2005-2009 and directs the activities of the OECD/NEA's programme of work, in particular, those carried out by the safety committees - the Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI) and the Committee on Nuclear Regulatory Activities (CNRA). To accomplish these objectives, the CSNI is organized into six permanent working groups, each covering a different set of technical disciplines. The CSNI has produced numerous state of the art reports (SOARs) or international standard problems (ISPs), which have been key contributors to national safety assessment practices. The CSNI is also responsible for organizing and monitoring cooperative research projects, which are generally organized to share costs and information on research programmes of common interest to many member countries and/or to ensure that key facilities/programmes related to the nuclear safety infrastructure are maintained. Currently, there are 15 ongoing safety research projects. OECD projects like LOFT (Loss of Fluid Test) and Halden are recognized worldwide. The paper underlines the main findings from past OECD/NEA experience, focusing on specific safety activities and showing the added value provided to member countries. From the OECD/ NEA perspective, any concerted action among technical institutions addressing safety should build on the successful cooperation existing today. (author)