The Nuclear Emergency Assistance and Training Center (NEAT) of JAEA has promoted international cooperation through collaboration with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and information exchange with foreign experts in emergency preparedness and response.
In cooperation with the international agency, the NEAT performs activities through Convention Exercises (ConvEx), Response and Assistance Network (RANET) and the Topical Group on Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPRTG) of the Asian Nuclear Safety Network (ANSN); where the ConvEx, RANET and ANSN are organized by the IAEA.
Following the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident in 1986, two Conventions of the IAEA were adopted, i.e., the Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident and the Convention on Assistance in Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency. These conventions entered enforcement in Japan in 1987. In order to evaluate and improve response arrangements, the IAEA conducted regularly ConvEx (Convention Exercises).
Since registered in the international assistance framework of RANET in 2010, the JAEA has participated in ConvEx exercises performed between the IAEA and nations. In FY2017, the JAEA participated in the ConvEx-2b exercise.
The ConvEx-2b exercise is an exercise to examine the mechanism related to the request and the provision of assistance based on RANET, and it is carried out by the IAEA once a year. In FY2017, on December 6 (Japan time), the NEAT received an e-mail of sharing the injected information about ConvEx-2b exercise from the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA). The Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) participated in ConvEx-2b exercise as follows: The JAEA assembled associated staff at the NEAT. While contacting the directing staff such as Director of the NEAT, the JAEA examined the contents of support that it could give, and replied to the NRA.
In 2010, Japan registered its participation in the Response Assistance Network (RANET) established at IAEA as a framework for international support in the case of a nuclear accident or radiological emergency. As a domestic organization that provides advice and other assistance to the countries concerned under the RANET, which is called External Base Support (EBS) in the RANET, Japan registered the following three bodies: the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS; which became National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology, abbreviated as QST, since April 1, 2016) and Hiroshima University in June 2010.
RANET is an activity aimed at smoothly carrying out support of each country to nuclear power and radiation accidents. In 2010, the JAEA was registered as an institution capable of responding to the EBS support in 7 functional areas. After that, the functional areas were changed in RANET, and the JAEA's EBS support corresponds to the following five functional areas.
The JAEA has received four requests for assistance since the registration. However, an actual assistance has not come to be implemented in the framework of RANET due to the reasons that either a closer country provided the assistance or the assistance requested was not included in the registered capable fields.
Topical Group on Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPRTG), which is one of 10 Topical Groups in the framework of the Asian Nuclear Safety Network (ANSN) of the IAEA, has made activities to strengthen the capabilities of Asian countries belonging to the ANSN. Since 2006 when the ANSN/EPRTG was established, staff members of the JAEA/NEAT have served as coordinator of the EPRTG.
In 2017, the ANSN regional workshop on "Information Exchange during Radiation Emergencies, and on Cooperation to Coordinate Emergency Preparedness and Response" was held from June 12 to 14 at the IAEA in Vienna. The 13th Annual Meeting of EPRTG was held at the same place during June 15 and 16.
The Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) has arrangement for cooperation in the field of peaceful uses of nuclear energy with the Korean Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) until September 2018. One of the arrangement items is "development of nuclear emergency assistance technology," which has been included in the arrangement since September 2008. We have had four information exchange meetings, i.e., in December 2009, October 2012, October 2013 and November 2015. In November 2015, three experts from the KAERI visited NEAT. The KAERI decided to introduce environmental monitoring vehicles following the nuclear accident which occurred in March 2011 in Japan. The JAEA and KAERI made discussions on the NEAT environmental monitoring vehicles; the Department of Research Reactor and Tandem Accelerator took part in a discussion on emergency preparedness and response of research reactors.
Three experts from Korea Institute of Radiological & Medical Sciences (KIRAMS) visited NEAT in April 2015 for their reference in introducing a vehicle mounting a whole-body counter to KIRAMS. The KIRAMS and JAEA exchanged information on equipment, usage and application of the whole-body counter vehicle.
Five experts from Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS) visited NEAT in November 2015. The JAEA and KINS initiated a discussion on information exchange on radiation detectors mounting on an unmanned helicopter.
Preparatory meetings were initiated in 2015, once in Japan and once more in France, for information exchange with the Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire; IRSN) of France.
