The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has released an updated version of its Self-Assessment of Regulatory Infrastructure for Safety (SARIS) software, which enables countries to check whether their nuclear regulatory infrastructure is in line with IAEA safety standards. IAEA said the standards, which comprise more than 100 documents "that reflect a consensus on what is considered a high level of nuclear and radiation safety”, outline the basics for establishing, maintaining and continuously improving governmental, legal and regulatory frameworks for nuclear and radiation safety.
The SARIS self-assessment tool was originally launched in 2013 and has been regularly reviewed and revised to ensure its consistency and completeness with all relevant IAEA safety standards. The latest version rationalises and streamlines its question sets, reducing the number of questions by 75%.
The IAEA said it encourages every member state to implement self-assessment of its national infrastructure "as an integral part of the management system of the national bodies responsible for safety, for routine, cyclic measurement, assessment and improvement of performance".
