Proposals Sought for IAEA Conference on Protecting Nuclear Facilities
The IAEA International Conference on Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and Nuclear Facilities will be held Nov. 13-17, 2017, in Vienna, Austria.
May 15 is the deadline for interested participants to submit a synopsis to present at the IAEA International Conference on Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and Nuclear Facilities, which will be held Nov. 13-17, 2017, in Vienna, Austria. The conference will feature plenary sessions, panels, keynote statements, technical presentations, and poster sessions and scientific papers.
"Physical protection against unauthorized removal of nuclear material during use, storage, and transport and against the sabotage of nuclear material and nuclear facilities during use, storage, and transport has long been a matter of national and international concern and cooperation," said Kenneth Brooks, senior nuclear security officer at IAEA and the scientific secretary of the conference. "The Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material entered into force last year, and this conference will provide an excellent platform for countries that have adopted the amendment to share with others their experience, challenges, and lessons learned in areas of physical protection of nuclear materials and facilities."
The convention is the only international, legally binding agreement on the physical protection of nuclear material. In 2016, the amendment broadened the scope of the convention to include protection for nuclear materials used for peaceful purposes in domestic use, storage, and transport, and IAEA provided Member States with recommendations on how to implement a comprehensive physical protection regime.
"To strengthen global nuclear security, universal adherence to and implementation of the CPPNM and its amendment are critical," said Gisele Irola, foreign affairs officer at the U.S. Department of State. "The international nuclear security framework is only as strong as its weakest link."