JRC marks ten years of nuclear safeguard cooperation with Russian Federation
The European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) celebrated ten years of cooperation with the Russian Federation in the field of nuclear safeguards on 12 November. Collaboration first began after the break-up of the Soviet Union and its centralised control and management structures for nuclear installations and material. JRC programmes and projects are carried out under the EU's Technical Assistance to the Commonwealth of Independence States (TACIS) programme. 'We are committed to developing further our relationship with the countries of the former Soviet Union to assist in the control of nuclear material,' said Roland Schenkel, acting Director-General of the JRC. 'Ten years of successful cooperation in the areas of training and the development of nuclear accountancy and monitoring systems has led to improved nuclear safety and security, which is so important in the fight against illicit trafficking and nuclear and radioactive material.' The main objective of the partnership under TACIS has been the establishment of Nuclear Material Accountancy and Control (NMA&C) based on international standards. The EU has done this through a programme divided into three pillars focusing on: safeguards methodology training for experts, operators and inspectors; improving nuclear analytical capabilities serving NMA&C; and developing the instrumentation in cooperation with industry in the Russian Federation. One of the big successes of the partnership has been the Russian Methodological Training Centre in Obninsk, which was established to facilitate training in internationally approved nuclear safeguards methods. To date, over 2,000 nuclear experts from the Russian Federation and the Russian nuclear regulatory body have been trained. Legislation on nuclear material control has also been completed, and pilot implementation projects have been carried out in several nuclear facilities. Future TACIS projects will continue to develop reference laboratories and methodological training centres for the exchange of expertise. The JRC is also planning to provide expertise and support in the area of environmental monitoring and waste management.