The Spanish Nuclear Safety Council (CSN), represented by its president Josep Maria Serena, and by the commissioners Elvira Romera and Pilar Lucio, has participated throughout the week in the international conference organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on a decade of progress after Fukushima Daiichi: Building on lessons learned to further strengthen nuclear safety.

The conference has focused on analyzing the lessons learned, shared experiences, results and achievements of the actions taken after the accident and identifying ways to further strengthen nuclear safety.

Josep Maria Serena held a meeting with the IAEA Director General, Rafael Mariano Grossi, accompanied by the Spanish ambassador to international organizations in Vienna, Esther Monterrubio. In addition, Serena met with the Chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Christopher Hanson, and with the General Director of the Moroccan regulatory body (AMSSNuR), Khammar Mrabit, with whom he discussed issues of common interest and to whom he proposed to maintain respective bilateral meetings in 2022.

Within the framework of this conference, a meeting of International Gender Champions Impact Group (IGC-IG) was also held and in which it participated the president of the CSN, Josep Maria Serena.

In his speech, Serena highlighted that as regulators who provide a service of public interest, "we have the obligation to lead by example and lay the foundations of good practices in the sector, also in matters of equality". Likewise, he stressed that the Spanish Nuclear Safety Council is finalizing its first Equality Plan, given that promoting equal opportunities between men and women in the CSN is a strategic objective, as reflected in the 2020 Strategic Plan -2025.

The International Gender Champions Impact Group is a leadership network that brings together women and men decision-makers, determined to break down gender barriers and make gender equality an operational reality in their spheres of influence.

Panel on leadership

CSN commissioner Elvira Romera participated in the panel in which the essential aspects to build inclusive leadership in the field of nuclear safety were discussed. Among the topics discussed in this session, the impact of globalization on the safety culture and the important role that international organizations play in this regard, as well as the need for safety culture to be transparent, was addressed. In this regard, Elvira Romera highlighted the various tools available at the CSN to promote communication and transparency.

Likewise, another of the elements analyzed was the factors that affect leadership and safety culture in the scenario of long-term operation of nuclear power plants, where the commissioner highlighted as a fundamental aspect the knowledge transfer between generations.

Panel on communication

On her behalf, the CSN commissioner Pilar Lucio participated in the conference session focused on the management of information and communication to relevant stakeholders and the general public to build a social commitment based on trust in regulatory bodies and the authorities. A field of knowledge that is currently being addressed in international forums given its recognized impact on nuclear and radiological safety, as well as its importance in enabling the implementation of strategic technical solutions for all countries that, like Spain, need to manage the risks of nuclear and radiological facilities and other needs, such as waste generated during their operation.

In this regard, the commissioner highlighted the CSN's commitment to the functions assigned to it in relation to communication, transparency and the rights of access to information and public participation, as well as the interest in participating in this type of international activities within its legal framework.

International cooperation panel

International cooperation was another of the topics discussed in this meeting and in the panel devoted to this matter the head of International Relations of the CSN, Alfredo de los Reyes, participated, who reflected on the need for regulatory bodies (the only competent in matters of nuclear safety in their respective countries) to maintain a permanent international collaboration and to implement related knowledge and work practices, as well as to improve the global safety regime.

After reviewing the intense international activity that the Spanish regulatory authority develops, which indicates the importance that the CSN gives to this field, de los Reyes highlighted the great evolution that international cooperation has experienced since the first nuclear accidents (Three Mile Island in 1979 and Chernobyl in 1986). Thanks to this collaborative work, which has allowed the different countries to share their lessons learned and improvements implemented, the safety conditions of nuclear facilities, both their own and those of our environment, have increased significantly.

This conference has provided a new opportunity to analyze the lessons learned from the Fukushima accident, in addition to sharing the improvements implemented in neighboring countries and obtaining a mutual and collaborative benefit that contributes to improve the public service entrusted to the CSN.

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