International organisations assure nuclear safety competence

The mandates and statutes of international organisations, such as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), include articles contemplating the prevention of radiation damage from the peaceful uses of nuclear energy through assuring the safety of nuclear installations and isotope and radiation applications. Such institutions have created Nuclear Safety Departments, as in the case for the IAEA, or specific Committees, as in the NEA, in both cases experts from all nations work in close collaboration with the corresponding staff. Learned institutions, as the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), and multinational organisations, as the Euratom Treaty, are very active in the development of the scientific background and the setup of standards for radiological protection, while different international associations of regulators develop criteria publish position statements of common interest. The need for nuclear energy and the increasing uses of isotopes and radiation sources assure the continuation of all these institutions and their working methods and so they constitute a safeguard to keep nuclear safety expertise alive and active.