Speaker
Description
The Nuclear Regulatory Authority (ARN) is the national governmental organization in charge of the regulation of nuclear activities in Argentina and is independent of any entity dedicated to the use or the promotion of nuclear energy in any of its forms. ARN was created in 1997 by the National Nuclear Activity Act (Law No. 24.804), which establishes its mission and responsibilities. This autarchic entity within the jurisdiction of the Argentine Presidency has competence on radiological and nuclear safety, physical protection, safeguards and nuclear non-proliferation.
As the authority responsible for safeguards implementation, the ARN attaches great importance to assuring efficient and effective safeguards through robust capabilities of the State System of Accounting for and Control of Nuclear Material (SSAC) and a strong connection with external relevant institutions. To fulfill its mission, ARN is committed to continuously develop its own human capacity and outreach to licensees and relevant stakeholders, assuring a clear understanding of safeguards obligations and responsibilities.
From an international perspective, ARN maintains interaction with several organizations through mechanisms as the Cooperation Protocol with the Brazilian-Argentine Agency for Accounting and Control of Nuclear Materials; the Agreement with the United States Department of Energy concerning research and development in nuclear material control, accountancy, verification, physical protection, and advanced containment and surveillance technologies for international safeguards application; the Argentine Support Programme to the International Atomic Energy Agency. These partnerships foster collaboration in safeguards implementation through tailored training and activities on safeguards approaches, measurement techniques, containment and surveillance, the conduct of domestic/regional inspections and the role of a SSAC in implementing international safeguards, among others.
The paper focuses on ARN’s interfaces in safeguards capacity building activities conducted during the past four years. It describes the experience gained through in-house training, facility operator engagement and collaborative actions within the above-mentioned frameworks, while sharing the lessons learned.
| Topics | SGI1 |
|---|---|
| Which "Key Question" does your Abstract address? | SGI1.4 |
| Which alternative "Key Question" does your Abstract address? (if any) | SGI1.2 |
