Top Management Must Lead for Nuclear and Radiation Safety, According to New IAEA Safety Standard

Senior executives of any organization or facility involved in activities that could give rise to radiation risks must provide leadership and management for safety, according to an updated IAEA General Safety Requirements publication, adopted as an IAEA safety standard by the Board of Governors on 7 June 2016.

The revised requirements, titled Leadership and Management for Safety, place new emphasis on the role of senior management in ensuring safety to protect human life, health and the environment form harmful effects of radiation. The new standard calls on senior management of organizations to demonstrate leadership for safety by ensuring "as an overriding priority" that safety and protection issues always receive the attention they warrant.

"The safety standards are a cornerstone for nuclear and radiation safety, and they have to be updated to reflect developments," said IAEA Deputy Director General Juan Carlos Lentijo, Head of the Department of Nuclear Safety and Security. "This important update introduces substantive changes that highlight that prioritizing safety is a responsibility not only for staff on the control room floor, but also for chief executive officers and all personnel. Implementing these requuirements will ensure a good safety culture."

The publication, which incorporates lessons from the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi accident, states that "senior management shall be responsible for establishing, applying, sustaining and continuously improving a management system to ensure safety" and requires senior managers to identify and provide the resources needed to ensure safety.

Read more: https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/top-management-must-lead-for-nuclear-and-radiation-safety-according-to-new-iaea-safety-standard