40 Years of OSART: Improving Nuclear Power Plant Safety Worldwide - International Atomic Energy Agency
40 Years of OSART: Improving Nuclear Power Plant Safety Worldwide | IAEA
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Operational Safety Review Team (OSART): one of the most important safety peer review services offered by the IAEA to its Member States. The OSART programme aims to help countries strengthen the safety of their nuclear power plants during commissioning and operation by comparing actual practices with the IAEA Safety Standards. Since the first mission to Kori Nuclear Power Plant in the Republic of Korea in August 1983, the IAEA has carried out 218 OSART missions to 37 countries, providing objective and independent assessments of their operational safety performance.
“Through these missions, thousands of experts have supported the continuous safety improvement of nuclear power plants operating across the globe,” said IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi in a video message to mark the occasion.
Performed at the request of IAEA Member States, OSART missions are designed to assist nuclear operators in strengthening the operational safety of their plants by identifying areas that should be improved and recommending ways to do so.
During an OSART mission, experts from Member States and the IAEA assess safety performance at the nuclear facility against the IAEA Safety Standards, the internationally accepted standards for nuclear safety, and provide specific recommendations and suggestions for safety improvements. During the mission, the application of these standards in a wide range of areas, including plant management, personnel training and qualification, operations and safety culture are assessed.
OSART missions for operational nuclear power plants can be conducted at any time after a plant begins commercial operation. A follow up visit is usually held about 18 months after the main mission. Pre-OSART missions are conducted during the commissioning phase of a nuclear power plant, normally a few months before the first nuclear fuel is loaded into the nuclear reactor. Complementary to them, Corporate OSART missions are conducted to also review centralized functions of operational safety aspects of nuclear power plants within the fleet, such as corporate management; safety performance monitoring; and oversight, procurement or human resources.
Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: nuclear
Nuclear energy provides almost 20 percent of the U.S. electricity supply. Advocates have called for an expanded role for nuclear as an emissions-free fuel source. But the economics of building new reactors are daunting. In addition, lingering safety concerns are an institutionalized part of the calculation of nuclear regulation, and highly radioactive nuclear waste remains a can that public officials have been inclined to kick down the road. The Energy Information Administration projects a sharp decline in nuclear power generation over the next decade, as new nuclear plants — two are planned — are more than offset by anticipated retirements of several operating reactors.