Since its establishment in September 2003, the International Expert Group on Nuclear Liability (INLEX) has played an important role in raising awareness and understanding of the nuclear liability instruments adopted under the IAEA’s auspices. Over the course of the past two decades, the group has advised on many issues related to nuclear liability and reached conclusions and made recommendations on possible gaps and ambiguities in the scope and coverage of the existing instruments. To mark...

This publication documents the results of an IAEA coordinated research project (CRP)on the application of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) codes for nuclear power plant design. The main objective was to benchmark CFD codes, model options and methods against CFD experimental data under single phase flow conditions. This publication summarizes the current capabilities and applications of CFD codes, and their present qualification level, with respect to nuclear power plant design requiremen...

Radiation sources used in research and education include particle accelerators, sealed radioactive sources, such as low activity check sources and high activity sealed radioactive sources in irradiators; unsealed radioactive sources that are used as tracers in field work and in laboratory work; naturally occurring radioactive material and X ray generators such as diffraction apparatus and fluorescence analyzers. This Safety Guide provides recommendations on how to meet the relevant require...

Protection of the environment is one of the cornerstones of sustainable development, a key consideration for Member States embarking on new nuclear power programs. National requirements and international instruments increasingly reflect this concern and for the provision of opportunities for interested parties and stakeholders to be involved in decision-making processes. This new edition provides valuable guidance to Member States on issues related to environmental protection when consider...

Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) is an economic appraisal tool which can be used to inform an investment decision, for instance, the construction of a nuclear power plant. In a CBA, the costs and benefits are accounted for as fully as possible, allowing estimation of the net economic benefit associated with the project relative to a without-the-project scenario, or an alternative investment proposal. This publication suggests an approach for conducting a CBA for a nuclear newbuild project as pa...

This publication provides detailed guidance (i) on the identification of potential sabotage targets in a nuclear facility and possible vulnerabilities that could lead to unacceptable or high radiological consequences if an initiating event of malicious origin were to take place and (ii) on the identification of vital areas in nuclear facilities. It also includes guidance to assist States in accounting for the potential risks to a facility associated with stand-off sabotage attacks. This pu...

Decommissioning is a complex stage in research reactor projects, the safe and efficient implementation of which can be greatly facilitated if it is considered from the early stages and throughout the project’s lifespan. This publication provides guidance on facilitating decommissioning during the design, construction and operation stages of a research reactor’s lifetime, and on managing objectives and requirements during the transition period. It presents good practices and lessons learned...

In recent years, significant experience of the effects of high wind and flooding on nuclear installations has been gained worldwide. These phenomena may simultaneously affect all the structures, systems and components important to safety at a nuclear installation site. By detailing the methodologies and providing case studies for the evaluation of meteorological and hydrological hazards, this publication supports IAEA Safety Standards Series No. SSG-18, Meteorological and Hydrological Haza...

Improved fuel reliability means reduced fuel failures in reactor operation. Fuel failures, with their consequent adverse impact on the environment and requirements for additional waste management, result in costs for remediation, 'failed core' operation and maintenance. Therefore, poor performance of fuel can lead to uncompetitive operational conditions for a nuclear power plant. A revision of the earlier edition, this publication has been significantly extended to support nuclear fuel des...

The objective of this Safety Guide is to provide recommendations for the design of new nuclear power plants related to defense in depth and the practical elimination of plant event sequences that could lead to an early radioactive release or a large radioactive release. It also provides recommendations in relation to design aspects of defense in depth, in particular on those aspects associated with design extension conditions. Since the introduction of the term "practical elimination" in t...

Containment barrier systems are among the most widely used technologies for remediating contaminated sites. Various structures have been engineered to address site-specific needs, while barrier selection depends largely on whether regulatory requirements are prescriptive, or performance based. This publication provides an introduction to the design and construction of different containment barriers for low-level radioactive waste generated from remediation activities: basal (bottom) liners...

This Safety Guide provides recommendations for ensuring radiation protection in the design of new nuclear power plants, design modifications to operating plants, and checking the adequacy of the radiation protection aspects of design at different stages in the lifetime of operating plants. It also provides recommendations for measures to be taken in the design for the protection of site personnel, the public and the environment, and outlines the methodologies used to calculate on-site and ...