From November 4-8, 2024, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC’s) International Regulatory Development Partnership (IRDP) supported a training course on small modular reactors (SMRs). The training course was organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and was titled, “Training Course on Safety Aspects of SMRs and other Innovative Reactors”. The purpose of the training course was to provide an overview of the safety aspects of five SMR and advanced technology types, namely, water cooled SMRs, high-temperature gas reactors, sodium fast reactors, lead fast reactors, and molten salt reactors.
The course was hosted by the government of Japan at the Fukui International Human Resources Development Center for Atomic Energy in Tsuruga, Japan and was attended by 29 individuals from 18 countries. The participants were from diverse organizations such as regulatory authorities, potential owner/operators, atomic energy agencies, and research institutes. They primarily represented countries considering a nuclear power program with an SMR as its first reactor. Mr. Stewart Magruder from NRC’s contractor, Advanced Systems Technology and Management, Inc. (AdSTM) made several presentations on the status of SMR development around the world and the safety aspects of water cooled SMRs.
The participants were very engaged, and the training objectives for the week were clearly met. The IAEA is planning additional sessions of this training course in the future.