The Nuclear Safety Council (CSN) has participated in the thirty-third Regulatory Information Conference (RIC) which, for the first time, has been held virtually. This event, organized by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) throughout the week, was attended, on behalf of the CSN, by its president and commissioners as well as other members of the organization.

The heads of the research and reactor regulation offices, Andrea Veil and Raymond Furstenau, whose departments are responsible for the organization of this unique international event, opened the conference and gave the floor to the new Chairman of the NRC, Christopher T. Hanson.

The NRC Chairman, in his welcoming speech, addressed the regulatory activity in the US after the consequences of Covid-19 and highlighted aspects related to the concept of risk-informed regulation, the transformation of regulatory processes and diversity and inclusion, as fundamental elements in the regulatory paradigm shift of the U.S. regulator. In the same way, he highlighted the paramount importance of independence, transparency and communication with the public in all regulatory actions and decisions, as values ​​that contribute to strengthening trust in the regulator, both by the public and by stakeholders. In this regard, he mentioned that the three basic pillars of the NRC are public trust, accumulated information and knowledge, and the NRC staff. Finally, he reviewed some of the activities that he considers as a priority for the mandate that he begins in 2021, such as advanced reactors, accident-tolerant fuels and the reinforcement of academic programs that allow meeting the challenges caused by a generational change that affects the entire nuclear sector, as well as other outstanding issues such as digital instrumentation and control or the relationship between the Federal Agency and the States with which it has some type of entrustment agreement (Agreement States).

Likewise, Hanson also stressed the importance of building bridges of cooperation bilaterally and with international organizations, because although the NRC is a highly respected institution in the international arena, it should not stop learning from and relying on foreign counterparts.

Finally, Hanson reviewed some of the lessons learned from Fukushima 10 years after the accident and acknowledged the great work done by the Japanese regulator in rebuilding public trust in the regulator.

Technical sessions, panel discussions and presentations

The RIC program has been divided into technical sessions, panel discussions and presentations on current issues for the regulators, the administration and the industry, such as knowledge management, digital instrumentation, regulation for nuclear emergencies, spent fuel safety, long-term operation and safety culture, among other issues.

In this edition, 29 technical sessions have taken place and Thursday was the day dedicated to special plenary sessions, the first one dedicated to the tenth anniversary of Fukushima and the second one on the NRC’s transformation process.

During the technical sessions, this year special emphasis was placed on the debate on advanced reactors, cybersecurity, nuclear regulation in times of transformation, innovation in the production of medical radioisotopes, microreactors, reactor decommissioning and management of radioactive waste, among other issues.

This international conference, known as RIC, is a forum for the exchange of information and experiences and, this time, being virtual, it has reached the largest audience of all its editions, gathering around 3,650 participants from 50 countries.

The US regulatory body has made the information available to the public on its website www.nrc.gov.