Nuclear Safety: Information on the International Nuclear Regulators Association

The United States currently participates in and expends funds on numerous organizations dealing with international nuclear safety. Several U.S. government agencies, including the Nuclear Regulatory Commission NRC, take part in one or more of these organizations. One of these organizations, the International Nuclear Regulators Association, was established in 1997 as an informal group for senior regulators to exchange ideas and views on issues related to nuclear safety and regulation. Members include the Chairman of the NRC from the United States and the equivalent position in seven other countries-Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The Associations members selected the former Chairman of the NRC, who was a chief proponent of the Association, to serve as its first chairman, a position that she held until May 1999. You have expressed concern about NRCs participation in these organizations, particularly the International Nuclear Regulators Association, because, among other things, this association may duplicate the activities carried out under the Convention on Nuclear Safety, which was ratified by the U.S. Senate in March 1999. Accordingly, you asked that we provide information on 1 the Associations activities since it was created, 2 U.S. costs to support NRCs participation in the Association, 3 the views of NRCs commissioners and others on the benefits of the Association, and 4 other groups and activities that promote nuclear safety and the extent to which these groups duplicate the work of the Association.