Boletim Webnuclear - Octubre 2026
Año 21 - Nº 243 - Octubre 2026
Sitios
Congresos
Revistas
Publicaciones
INES: The International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale User's Manual
IAEA-INES-2026 ¦ English ¦ 185 pages ¦ Date published: 2026
The International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES) facilitates the clear and consistent communication of the safety significance and associated radiation risk of nuclear and radiological events to the general public. INES’s scope encompasses events that may occur at facilities and during activities involving sources of ionizing radiation. INES supports a common understanding of the nature and severity of events among technical experts, the media and the public. This edition of the INES User's Manual —which supersedes the 2008 edition of the Manual as well as The Use of the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES) for Event Communication, issued in 2014 — consolidates the rating methodology and addresses the communication of events. Reflecting lessons learned from past events, in particular from the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in 2011, the Manual provides updated guidance on rating the safety significance of events and on effectively using the assessed level to communicate with different audiences.
Microreactors: Advances in Technology Development (2026 Outlook)
IAEA/PAT/016 ¦ English ¦ 80 pages ¦ Date published: 2026
This publication provides Member States with an overview of microreactors as an emerging technology and examines their potential role in future energy systems. It explores the prospects for microreactors in the evolving nuclear market, including applications for remote and off-grid communities to support energy supply security and resilience, as well as in the decarbonization of hard-to-abate sectors. The publication discusses pathways towards demonstration, deployment and commercialization, together with the associated opportunities and challenges. It also highlights the IAEA’s role in supporting Member States through international cooperation, knowledge exchange, and harmonization initiatives, including the SMR Platform and the Nuclear Harmonization and Standardization Initiative (NHSI). The information presented is based primarily on data derived from the 2026 update of the ARIS database, information provided to the IAEA by microreactor designers, and publicly available sources.
The Costs of Generating Electricity 2025
OECD/NEA 2026 ¦ English ¦ 94 pages ¦ Date published: 2026
In a fast-changing energy landscape, confronted by rising demand, price volatility and increasing capital intensity, providing reliable data on the costs of generating electricity to policymakers, experts and modellers is essential. Combining the deep techno-economic expertise of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), The Costs of Generating Electricity 2025 provides plant-level data on the levelised costs of electricity (LCOE) for 23 technologies in 21 countries. It includes data on a broad range of low carbon technologies, including small modular reactors (SMRs) and hydrogen turbines, as well as a number of fossil-fuel based technologies, both with and without carbon capture and storage (CCUS). Based on this data, it seems electricity systems are becoming increasingly low carbon and more diversified, but also more expensive. Only the long-term operation (LTO) of existing nuclear power plants, hydroelectricity, and – as long as their system costs are excluded – onshore wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) can provide electricity for less than USD 100 per MWh. While LCOE remains a vital building block of the information infrastructure on electricity systems, the data on costs and capacity factors also signal that they need to be complemented by system cost analysis in a specific country context to provide a reliable guide for decision making.
. Specific Infrastructure Considerations for Nuclear Energy Applications Beyond Electricity
IAEA-TECDOC-2121 ¦ English ¦ 60 pages ¦ Date published: 2026
Nuclear energy provides a reliable and abundant source of clean and dispatchable power. Combined with electricity generation the use of nuclear heat for applications such as industrial processes, district heating, desalination and hydrogen production can enable efficiency gains and support the decarbonization of industrial and residential sectors. As nations seek energy security and carbon neutrality, these applications are being increasingly considered by Member States to help decarbonize high-energy-consuming and hard-to-abate sectors. The IAEA’s Milestones approach provides guidance on the infrastructure and ensuing related activities which are needed to successfully deploy nuclear programmes. Compared to conventional nuclear projects intended for sole power generation, however, nuclear projects for applications beyond electricity may present greater complexity and new challenges. This publication complements the guidance laid out in the milestones approach, providing further support to Member States interested in the planning, evaluation and deployment of projects for beyond electricity applications.
The Role of Innovation in the Nuclear Back-End: Harnessing Robotics and Advanced Technologies for Safer, More Efficient Activities
OECD/NEA 2025 ¦ English ¦ 117 pages ¦ Date published: 2026
On 1-3 April 2025, the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) and Sellafield Ltd. held an international workshop on innovative technologies for the nuclear back-end, focusing on the opportunities, benefits and challenges in increasing safety and efficiency. The workshop, which took place in Workington, United Kingdom, was informed by contributions from the NEA’s Working Party on Technical, Environmental and Safety Aspects of Decommissioning and Legacy Management (WPTES) and the Expert Group on the Application of Robotics and Remote Systems in the Nuclear Back-end (EGRRS). Together, their insights shaped the workshop’s programme, presentations and discussions to address key challenges while fostering innovation amidst a complex policy and regulatory landscape. The workshop also provided information on applications of existing technologies to new problems. It covered best practices and strategies for overcoming implementation challenges, potential risks, practical solutions, and the evolving role of technology in shaping the future of nuclear operations. The workshop brought together participants from various fields of expertise involved in the decommissioning of complex and legacy sites, including implementers, government and regulatory agencies, academia and researchers. Notably, regulators from different countries were actively engaged as part of both the audience and panel sessions for this workshop, and several presentations addressed regulatory concerns and perspectives.
NEA Advanced Thermal-Hydraulic Experiment for Nuclear Analysis and Safety (NEA/ATHENA) Framework: Strategic Plan
OECD/NEA 2026 ¦ English ¦ 51 pages ¦ Date published: 2026
The Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) has developed a Strategic Roadmap for Nuclear Reactor Safety Research to guide future collaborative research efforts. One of the roadmap’s central recommendations is to strengthen thermal-hydraulics research (a foundational area of nuclear power plant performance and reactor safety) across both current- and next-generation technologies and new applications of nuclear energy. The roadmap highlights the urgent need to respond to the recent closure of key research infrastructures, such as Framatome’s PKL facility in Germany, which has led to a loss of both experimental capacity and critical expertise. Without co-ordinated international action, the resulting capability gap will continue to widen. The NEA is proposing the creation of the Advanced Thermal-Hydraulic Experiment for Nuclear Analysis and Safety (NEA/ATHENA) Framework, an innovative international framework designed to sustain and integrate thermal-hydraulic research on a global scale. In contrast to the current array of independent thermal-hydraulic projects, ATHENA will foster collaboration by connecting experimental facilities, pooling resources and aligning co-funded initiatives with broadly shared stakeholder priorities. This co-operative approach will ensure the efficiency, long-term continuity and advancement of capabilities that individual projects cannot achieve, especially in a rapidly evolving field. ATHENA is a direct response to key recommendations from the Committee of the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI) and the Strategic Roadmap for Nuclear Reactor Safety Research, addressing critical gaps and challenges in nuclear safety research.
. Experimental Validation and Application of CFD and CMFD Codes to Nuclear Reactor Safety Issues (CFD4NRS-9) Workshop Proceedings Texas A&M University 20-22 February 2023
OECD/NEA 2026 ¦ English ¦ 35 pages ¦ Date published: 2026
The ninth edition of the CFD4NRS workshop, organised under the auspices of the NEA Working Group on Analysis and Management of Accidents (WGAMA), was hosted by the Centre for Advanced Small Modular and Microreactors (CASMR) of the Texas A&M University on 20-22 February 2023 in College Station, Texas, United States. After nearly being cancelled because of restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event took place in an in-person format. The workshop brought together international nuclear safety research organisations, technical support organisations, industry and academia to exchange and share experiences and research results related to the development, assessment and application of single-phase and multiphase simulation tools acting on a small scale for nuclear reactor safety (NRS) issues, and to address both CFD applications and the related experimental and instrumentation issues. The workshop featured 3 keynote lectures, 2 panel sessions and 50 oral presentations. The keynotes and panel sessions were designed in a way that permitted interactions between the audience and the speakers, giving extra time for Q&A, making live polls or directly asking questions to the audience during the sessions. Sixty participants attended the workshop, which focused on offering exposure to state-of-the-art CFD applications and moving forward in the penetration of CFD within the industry and regulatory authorities.
The 2024 Workshop on Nuclear Supply Chain: Assurance Today, Confidence Tomorrow: Proceedings 5-6 March 2024 - Boulogne-Billancourt, France
OECD/NEA 2025 ¦ English ¦ 48 pages ¦ Date published: 2026
The Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) Committee on Nuclear Regulatory Activities (CNRA) Working Group on Supply Chain (WGSUP) hosted an international workshop on 5-6 March 2024 on nuclear supply chain management. It was structured around four sessions and included keynote speeches from industry leaders. The workshop was developed in partnership with the World Nuclear Association (WNA) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to align the improvements, practices and oversight activity of the industry, its regulators and Standards Development Organisations (SDOs). This workshop aimed to build on the successful 2018 CNRA/Multinational Design Evaluation Programme (MDEP) Workshop on Nuclear Supply Chain Management and to reflect on the additional significant challenges to supply chain oversight practices since that event.
Regulatory Experience Feedback Management
STI/PUB/2148 ¦ English ¦ 41 pages ¦ Date published: 2026
This Safety Guide provides recommendations for regulatory bodies on how to meet Requirement 15 of GSR Part 1 (Rev. 1) regarding the establishment, implementation, assessment and continuous improvement of arrangements for regulatory experience feedback. This includes disseminating lessons learned from their own experience, as well as from other national and international sources of experience concerning the implementation of regulatory functions and processes to facilitate continuous improvement and enhance regulatory effectiveness in ensuring the safety of facilities and activities.
Research Reactors: Achievements, Experience and the Way to a Sustainable Future - Summary of an International Conference Held in Vienna, Austria, 11–15 November 2024
STI/PUB/2153 ¦ English ¦ 100 pages ¦ Date published: 2026
The International Conference on Research Reactors: Achievements, Experience and the Way to a Sustainable Future, is the major networking event for the research reactor community worldwide taking place every four years. The multidisciplinary scientific and technological applications that research reactors have supported and continue supporting have spawned advances in academia, industry, medicine, food and agriculture. This publication provides a summary of the conference, the major findings and conclusions of the sessions, and the opening and closing addresses. The accompanying supplementary files include the individual technical papers. These proceedings are expected to serve as a valuable source of information for specialists involved in research reactor operation and utilization as well as for regulatory authorities in the IAEA Member States.