The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) establishes and globally promotes the application of its safety standards and security guidance.
It does this through peer review services undertaken by the IAEA that are available to its member states upon request, which includes the UK. The Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) mission is one of these, and aims to strengthen and enhance the effectiveness of a member state’s regulatory infrastructure for nuclear, radiation, radioactive waste and transport safety.
An IRRS team is made up of technical experts, drawn from member states, and IAEA personnel. It evaluates a state’s national, legal and governmental framework and regulatory infrastructure for safety. This includes the practical arrangements for regulating its nuclear facilities, activities and radiological safety against relevant IAEA safety standards and guidance.
Security peer reviews are conducted through International Physical Protective Advisory Service (IPPAS) missions. These missions are undertaken by the IAEA to assist IAEA member states in strengthening their national nuclear security regimes.
The IPPAS mission provides peer advice on implementing international instruments, in this case the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM), as well as IAEA nuclear security guidance on the protection of nuclear and other radioactive material and associated facilities and activities. These are conducted both on a nation-wide and facility-specific basis.
The difference between the two types of peer review missions are as follows: an IPPAS mission considers the procedures employed by a state to deliver against relevant international security obligations, whilst IRRS focuses primarily on the function and effectiveness of the regulator. IPPAS can make recommendations aimed at the site dutyholders, regulators and government, whilst IRRS make recommendations aimed at government and the regulator itself.