Beijing, 30 July 2010 | An international team of senior experts on nuclear safety regulation today completed a two-week International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) review of the governmental and regulatory framework for nuclear safety in the People´s Republic of China.

The team identified good practices within the system and gave advice on areas for future improvements. The IAEA has conveyed the team´s main conclusions to the Government of the People´s Republic of China. The final report will be submitted to China by Autumn 2010.

At the request of Chinese authorities, the IAEA assembled a team of 22 experts to conduct an Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) mission. This mission is a peer review based on the IAEA Safety Standards. It is not an inspection, nor an audit.

The experts came from 15 different countries: Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Hungary, Japan, Pakistan, the Republic of Korea, Slovenia, South Africa, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Ukraine and the United States.

The scope of the mission included the regulation of nuclear and radiation safety of the facilities and activities regulated by the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA). The mission was conducted from 18 to 30 July, mainly in Beijing. To observe Chinese regulatory activities, the IRRS team visited several nuclear facilities, including a nuclear power plant, a manufacturer of safety components for nuclear power plants, a research reactor, a fuel cycle facility, a waste management facility, industrial and medical radioactive sources and the nuclear and radiation accident emergency centre.
The IAEA´s IRRS coordinator Gustavo Caruso said, "This mission was a big challenge for the Agency because of the significant expansion of China´s nuclear programme in the context of the nation´s current regulatory activities."
Source：www.iaea.org