IAEA Completes IPPAS Mission in Germany

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Bonn (ABC Live): IPPAS Mission :An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team of experts today completed a nuclear security advisory mission in Germany, which was carried out at the request of the German Federal Government.

The scope of the two-week International Physical Protection Advisory Service (IPPAS) mission included the legislative and regulatory framework for nuclear security as well as the physical protection of nuclear material and facilities and computer security. The IPPAS team visited the Emsland Nuclear Power Plant (KKE) and the on-site Interim Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility near the town of Lingen in northwest Germany.

The scope of the mission also included Germany’s implementation of the 2005 Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM). The Amendment, ratified by Germany in 2010, entered into force last year and provides a strengthened framework for protecting nuclear material and facilities.

The team observed that the nuclear security regime in Germany is well established and incorporates the fundamental principles of the amended CPPNM. The team provided recommendations and suggestions to support Germany in enhancing and sustaining nuclear security. A number of good practices were identified that can serve as examples to other IAEA Member States to help strengthen their nuclear security activities.

The team, led by Joseph Sandoval, Distinguished Member of Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories in the United States, included seven other experts from five countries and the IAEA. The team met in Bonn with officials from the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB), the Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (BfE), the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) and the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), as well as the Ministry for Environment, Energy and Climate Protection of Lower Saxony (NMU), the Committee on Security and Protection of Nuclear Installations (KoSikern), KKE and the Gesellschaft für Anlagen- und Reaktorsicherheit gGmbH (GRS).

“A strong commitment to nuclear security is a must for any State that uses nuclear energy,” said Juan Carlos Lentijo, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Nuclear Safety and Security. “Germany’s example in applying IAEA Nuclear Security guidance and using IAEA advisory services clearly demonstrates its strong commitment to nuclear security and its enhancement.”

“We welcome the results of this mission as documented in its report, which represent independent international advice for continued improvement of our nuclear security activities,” said Wolfgang Cloosters, Director General of the BMUB’s Directorate General on Safety of Nuclear Installations, Radiological Protection and Nuclear Fuel Cycle. “I am very proud that the team could identify good practices to be shared with the international community.”

Background

The mission was the 78th IPPAS mission conducted by the IAEA since the programme began in 1995. Germany is the 49th Member State to host an IPPAS mission.

IPPAS missions are intended to help States strengthen their national nuclear security regime. The missions provide peer advice on implementing international instruments, along with IAEA guidance on the protection of nuclear and other radioactive material and associated facilities.

During missions a team of international experts assesses a nation’s system of physical protection, compares it with international good practices and makes recommendations for improvement. IPPAS missions are conducted both on a nationwide and facility-specific basis.