UAE appointed member of Commission on Safety Standards of IAEA

ABU DHABI / WAM

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has recently appointed the United Arab Emirates as a member to the Eighth Term of its Commission on the Safety Standards (CSS). Sara Al Saadi, Director of Nuclear Safety Department at the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR), the UAE’s nuclear regulator, will represent the country in the committee. Comprising 26 representatives drawn from nuclear and radiation protection regulatory authorities from across the world and is selected by the IAEA Director-General, the commission is a standing body consisting of senior government officials holding national responsibilities for establishing regulatory standards and documents related to nuclear, radiation, transport and waste safety, and to emergency preparedness and response. It provides advice to the Director General of the IAEA on the programme on regulatory aspects of safety.
Sara Al Saadi said, “The appointment of FANR in the IAEA’s Commission on the Safety Standards is a major milestone for the UAE. It reflects the confidence and trust of the international community in the UAE to learn and benefit from its robust nuclear regulatory framework that contributes to the UAE becoming a role model globally for many countries aspiring to embark on building a nuclear energy programme. By participating in this international commission, FANR can share its nuclear regulatory expertise and practices which can have an influence on improving nuclear safety nationally and internationally.”
The commission shoulders many responsibilities: providing guidance on the strategy for establishing the IAEA’s safety standards, particularly to ensure coherence and consistency between standards; resolving outstanding issues referred to it by the committees involved in the Agency’s preparation and review process for safety standards.
Furthermore, the commission endorses the texts of the Safety Fundamentals and Safety Requirements to be submitted to the Board of Governors for approval and to determine the suitability of Safety Guides to be issued under the authority of the IAEA Director-General. It provides advice and guidance on safety standards issues, regulatory issues and the IAEA’s safety standards activities.