In Lomé, the expertise provided by IRSN involved participation in a discussion led by various ministries (1), the safety authority, the country's internal security forces (2) and various private players (3) with a view to drafting a decree laying down safety and security measures for the transport of radioactive material in the Republic of Togo. Thanks to the quality of the discussions, a pragmatic draft decree was submitted to the Ministry of Health for consideration by the Presidency and the Prime Minister, taking into account the specific features of the transport operations carried out in Togo.

In Yaoundé, an expert from the Institute took part - alongside the safety authorities and representatives of the internal security forces of Cameroon, the safety authorities of Chad and those of Gabon - in a tabletop exercise on the security of radioactive materials during transport in Central Africa. 80% of the radioactive materials transported in this area are gammagraphy devices (for non-destructive testing), with the remainder being transported for medical use. The scenarios created for this exercise were divided into two parts: the first consisted in getting the sub-groups (by country) to think about the organization of transport under normal conditions, and the second consisted in getting the participants to play out the crisis scenarios.

For IRSN, this type of intervention on behalf of the IAEA is an opportunity to support countries that request the Agency in developing or consolidating a security culture in the transport of radioactive material, and to establish contacts with local contacts.

(1) Ministry of Health, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of the Interior and Ministry of Defence.
(2) Gendarmerie, police, army, customs and fire brigade.
(3) Representatives of transport unions, air freight forwarders and the port of Lomé.

See also

• Webmagazine Repères n°45 April 2020 (PDF or WEB)

The European Safeguards Research and Development Association (ESARDA) and the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management (INMM) jointly held their annual symposium in Vienna from 22 to 25 May. IRSN made a major contribution to this event.

The symposium brought together a large audience from both sides of the Atlantic, opening up the scope of topics covered and encouraging a wider brainstorming. IRSN presented seven papers dealing with topics such as nuclear material accountancy as a tool for combating internal threats and interfacing security and non-proliferation, or as a means of cross-checking with material transport documents, the measurement of nuclear materials retained in industrial processes, training, and the impact of SMRs on international declarations.

The subject of security and safeguards measures on SMRs and their interfaces, as well as the strengthening of domestic training capacities or those for developing countries, were two of the key themes of this year's event, alongside cybersecurity and data analysis. A plenary session was also devoted to the war in Ukraine, with exchanges specifically on the subjects of security and Safeguards.

Further information

• Consult our information file on non-proliferation
• Visit the IRSN website dedicated to chemical, nuclear and biological non-proliferation

In March 2023, Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the IAEA, renewed the appointment of Jean-Christophe Niel as a member of the International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group (INSAG) representing France until July 2026.

On August 24, 2023, Louis-Michel Guillaume, Deputy Director General of IRSN, delegated for Defense-related missions, was renewed as a member of the Advisory Group on Nuclear Safety (AdSec) for a three-year term. He has been a member since 2018.

The presence of the Institute's managers in these two structures bears witness to the Agency's recognition of the quality of its expertise.

To know more about these committees

INSAG and AdSec are groups of experts with high levels of professional competence in the respective fields of nuclear security and of nuclear and radiation safety. Both expert groups are convened by the IAEA with the objective of providing authoritative advice and recommendations on current and emerging issues of nuclear safety and security to the IAEA’s Director General.

INSAG addresses fundamental safety issues, as well as current and emerging matters of importance relevant to the nuclear and radiation safety of all facilities and activities using nuclear or radioactive material.Specifically, AdSec advises on the IAEA’s current and proposed activities in the area of nuclear security. It makes recommendations on measures aimed at strengthening the Agency’s role and activities and provides guidance on priorities regarding these activities in the area of nuclear security.​

• AIEA - INSAG
• AIEA - AdSec

As part of its International Training Courses (ITC), the IAEA provides nuclear security training on topics such as nuclear material accounting and control. In this area, IRSN is committed to making the most of its experience and knowledge, and contributes to the Agency's training programs. Each year, the Institute takes part as a lecturer in a course organized either regionally, as for example in Egypt in 2022 or in Japan in 2023, or in the international course regularly held in the United States on this topic. 

It also takes part in training courses on the security of sources (Morocco 2022, Togo 2023, etc.). 

In the same spirit, IRSN has finalized with the European Commission's Joint Research Center (JRC) the preparation of a nuclear security training module that has been integrated into the Safeguards Master's program at the Politecnico di Milano . 

At the same time, the Institute is continuing its efforts to digitize its training materials, which began in 2021 with a view to developing distance learning in times of pandemic, and which will enable it to honor various contracts signed with the European Commission.

See also

• Protection of ionizing radiation sources against malicious acts: E-learning - IRSN Academy