TNAG-1658-FCO40-2306-Daya-Bay-nuclear-power-station-project-safety-concerns-in-Ho-1987 — Page 252

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siting to the design and operation of nuclear power reactors.

These are

now being updated in the light of the latest experience. I note with

appreciation in this context that China has adopted the NUSS standards

nearly in extenso as national regulations.

It is necessary to recognize that international action never can

replace the actions which must be taken nationally. It is only a

national regulatory authority which can define the safety standards to be

used in a country and carry out inspections to be sure that they are

being observed. It is only the plant's manager who can be responsible

for its safety. What we can do internationally in the IAEA to support

the national authorities and the plant operators can still be very

important. And the international exchange of experience is most

iportant, as is the advice that can be given by international expertise.

There will certainly be no mandatory international inspection of

nuclear power stations, but there is already substantially increased use

of the IAEA's operational safety review teams (OSARTS), which consist of

a dozen safety experts who examine operational safety at power plants at

the request of governments and report their findings to the operators and

the governments in question. This international service, like the NUSS,

is designed to ensure a uniformly high standard of safety in nuclear

power operation around the world. I might mention that OSART missions

have gone already to a great many countries in the world and new requests

for this service keep coming.