The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is organizing an International Conference on Enhancing the Operational Safety of Nuclear Power Plants (OS2024) – at the V-Continent Beijing Parkview Wuzhou Hotel, Beijing, China from 15 April - 19 April 2024.
Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) owners and operators face the daily challenge of maintaining the highest standards of safety while striving to improve plant performance through technical and organizational changes, improved life management, power upgrades and outage optimization. The conference will highlight enhancements in operational safety management at all stages of NPP operations from new build, operational and extended life operations
The conference will comprise an opening plenary session, six topical sessions and a closing plenary session.
The topical sessions are:
· Leadership and Safety Culture — Striving for Excellence
· New Build — Challenges and Opportunities
· Operational Performance Improvements — Getting Better at What We Do
· Corporate Oversight — Influencing Behaviours
· Long Term Operations — Extended Operations
· Operating Experience — Completing the Learning Cycle
Objectives
The aim of the conference is to foster the exchange of information and experiences related to enhancing NPP operational safety during commissioning, start-up, ongoing operation and long term operation among representatives of new and existing nuclear operators, regulators, technical support organizations, construction companies and other like-minded organizations.
Specifically, the conference aims to:
• Describe the role of leaders in enhancing safe operations;
• Discuss opportunities and lessons learned from new NPP construction and commissioning;
• Present case studies for monitoring and enhancing the operational safety performance of NPPs;
• Discuss the role of corporate oversight in maintaining and enhancing operational safety throughout the lifecycle of NPPs;
• Discuss the lesson learnt from the long term operation of NPPs including ageing management and the development activities needed to define the limiting factors for plant life extensions;
• Examine the importance of operating experience feedback for the enhancement of operational safety;
• Address the various challenges faced by new operators and existing NPP operators that are extending their fleets or restarting units, including human resource management, regulatory requirements, knowledge transfer to new staff, equipment performance monitoring and safety culture.
Submission of Synopses
Anyone wishing to present a paper at the conference – either orally or in the form of a poster – must submit a synopsis of between 400 and 800 words in electronic format through the “Call for Abstracts” page and associated updated guidance linked at the top of this page. Paper copies cannot be accepted.
Please refer to the Announcement for a full list of technical topic areas for the submissions.
Key Deadlines
27 October 2023: Opening of synopsis submission through IAEA-INDICO
15 January 2024: Submission of Participation Form (A) and Submission of a Paper (Form B) and synopses through the InTouch+platform
15 January 2024: Submission of Grant Application Form (Form C) & Participation Form (Form A) through the InTouch+platform
15 February 2024: Notification of acceptance of synopses
01 March 2024: Electronic submission of accepted full papers (8 pages maximum)
Participation and Registration
All persons wishing to participate in the event must be designated by an IAEA Member State or should be a member of an organization that has been invited to attend .
Registration through the InTouch+ platform:
1. Access the InTouch+ platform (https://intouchplus.iaea.org):
- Persons with an existing NUCLEUS account can sign in here with their username and password;
- Persons without an existing NUCLEUS account can register here.
2. Once signed in, prospective participants can use the InTouch+ platform to:
- Complete or update their personal details under ‘Basic Profile’ (if no financial support is requested) or under ‘Complete Profile’ (if financial support is requested) and upload the relevant supporting documents;
- Search for the relevant event (EVT2300035) under the ‘My Eligible Events’ tab;
- Select the Member State or invited organization they want to represent from the drop-down menu entitled ‘Designating authority’ (if an invited organization is not listed, please contact Conference.Contact-Point@iaea.org);
- If applicable, indicate whether a paper is being submitted and complete the relevant information;
- If applicable, indicate whether financial support is requested and complete the relevant information (this is not applicable to participants from invited organizations);
- Based on the data input, the InTouch+ platform will automatically generate Participation Form (Form A), Form for Submission of a Paper (Form B) and/or Grant Application Form (Form C);
- Submit their application.
Once submitted through the InTouch+ platform, the application together with the auto-generated form(s) will be transmitted automatically to the required authority for approval. If approved, the application together with the form(s) will automatically be sent to the IAEA through the online platform.
NOTE: Should prospective participants wish to submit a paper or request financial support, the application needs to be submitted by the specified deadlines.
For additional information on how to apply for an event, please refer to the InTouch+ Help page. Any other issues or queries related to InTouch+ can be sent to InTouchPlus.Contact-Point@iaea.org.
If it is not possible to submit the application through the InTouch+ platform, prospective participants are requested to contact the IAEA’s Conference Services Section via email: Conference.Contact-Point@iaea.org.
Conference Web Page
Please visit the following IAEA web page regularly for new information regarding this conference:
https://www.iaea.org/events/operational-safety-conference-2024
