Over the last two decades the IAEA safety standards have been developed — from a collection of individual safety documents addressing particular safety areas and issues — to a unified body of documents developed from a central set of safety principles. The top level document is the Fundamental Safety Principles published in 2006 (IAEA, 2006a).

The fundamental safety objective is ‘to protect people and the environment from harmful effects of ionizing radiation’. To ensure that facilities are operated and activities conducted so as to achieve the highest standards of safety that can reasonably be achieved, measures have to be taken:

• To control the radiation exposure of people and the release of radioactive material to the environment;

• To restrict the likelihood of events that might lead to a loss of control over a nuclear reactor core, nuclear chain reaction, radioactive source or any other source of radiation;

• To mitigate the consequences of such events if they were to occur.

The fundamental safety objective applies for all facilities and activities, and for all stages over the lifetime of a facility or radiation source, including planning, siting, design, manufacturing, construction, commissioning and operation, as well as decommissioning and closure. This includes the associated transport of radioactive material and management of radioactive waste.

Ten safety principles have been formulated, on the basis of which safety requirements and relevant safety measures are developed in order to achieve the fundamental safety objective. The safety principles form a set that is applicable in its entirety; although, in practice, different principles may be more or less important in relation to particular circumstances.

1 Responsibility for safety — The prime responsibility for safety must rest with the person or organization responsible for facilities and activities that give rise to radiation risks.

2 Role of government — An effective legal and governmental framework for safety, including an independent regulatory body, must be established and sustained.

3 Leadership and management for safety — Effective leadership and management for safety must be established and sustained in organizations concerned with, and facilities and activities that give rise to, radiation risks.

4 Justification of facilities and activities — Facilities and activities that give rise to radiation risks must yield an overall benefit.

5 Optimization of protection — Protection must be optimized to provide the highest level of safety that can reasonably be achieved.

6 Limitation of risks to individuals — Measures for controlling radiation risks must ensure that no individual bears an unacceptable risk of harm.

7 Protection ofpresent andfuture generations — People and the environment, present and future, must be protected against radiation risks.

8 Prevention of accidents — All practical efforts must be made to prevent and mitigate nuclear or radiation accidents.

9 Emergency preparedness and response — Arrangements must be made for emergency preparedness and response for nuclear or radiation incidents.

10 Protective actions to reduce existing or unregulated radiation risks — Protective actions to reduce existing or unregulated radiation risks must be justified and optimized.

The three general principles of radiation protection, which are justification, optimization of protection and limitation of exposure, are expressed in Safety Principles 4, 5, 6 and 10.

Safety requirements

On the basis of the Fundamental Safety Principles (IAEA, 2006a), safety requirements have been developed covering all areas of nuclear application including nuclear power plants and other nuclear fuel cycle facilities, research reactors, radioactive waste disposal facilities and the transport of radioactive material. In addition, safety requirements have been developed to cover general safety topics such as governmental, legal and regulatory frameworks, leadership and management, radiation protection, safety assessment, decommissioning and emergency preparedness (IAEA, 2011b).