Nuclear Security and Safeguards Considerations for Next Generation Reactors: International Approaches

Location: join us online (please register via Zoom) or BR-C, C Building, fourth floor (Vienna)

Speakers:

• Mr Álvaro Acevedo, Programme Manager, World Institute for Nuclear Security (WINS)
• Mr Duncan Barley, Office for Nuclear Regulation, UK
• Ms Jessica Bufford, Program Officer: Nuclear Material Security, Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI)
• Mr Jeremy Edwards, National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL)
• Mr George Foster, Amport Risk Limited
• Dr Ross Peel, Research and Knowledge Transfer Manager at King’s College London

Opening remarks: Mr Oli Housden, Deputy Director Non-Proliferation, UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

Chair: Professor Chris Hobbs, Director of the King’s Institute for Applied Security Studies (KIASS) at King’s College London.

Small modular reactors and advanced modular reactors (SMR and AMR) present significant opportunities for innovation in operations, safety, security and safeguarding. However, technology developers often focus their attention on the first two of these items, particularly during early stages of design, leaving security and safeguarding until later, when concepts are already relatively firm and opportunities to follow the best practice approaches of security- and safeguards-by-design have been missed. This will likely result in the sub-optimal delivery of security and safeguards and consequent elevated through-life operating costs.

At this event, a panel of international experts will explore the key safety and security considerations for SMR/AMRs and discuss how these can be successfully addressed.

This event is being delivered at the 2022 Conference of the Parties to the Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material. Delegates can participate online or in-person if attending the Conference.

Biographies:

Mr Álvaro Acevedo (WINS) is responsible for coordinating and implementing various operational projects, including international workshops, training courses and ongoing special projects on nuclear security capacity building for nuclear material and facilities. He leads WINS’ work on advanced nuclear reactors and technologies. Prior to joining WINS in June 2018, Álvaro worked as an engineer in a nuclear power plant in Spain. He is fluent in Spanish and English.

Mr Duncan Barley (ONR, UK) is the lead for civil nuclear security regulation for new technologies, Small Modular Reactors and the Office for Nuclear Regulation’s ‘Generic Design Assessment’ of proposed nuclear power plant designs. He previously led on the security aspects for licencing of NPPs and decommissioning. He is a Chartered Security Professional and Fellow of the UK’s Security Institute and Chartered Management Institute. Duncan’s first involvement in nuclear security policy was at the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. Previously he was part of the security team that delivered the 2012 Olympic games and a similar role in the oil and gas industry. During an earlier career in Defence, he spent time in academia, government departments, research establishments and assignments with international organizations including the UN, UNHCR and NATO.

Ms Jessica Bufford serves as a program officer for NTI’s Nuclear Material Security team. In this role, she leads efforts to facilitate cooperation with China on nuclear security issues and promote nuclear security in peaceful applications of nuclear technologies, particularly advanced reactor designs. She also supports support efforts to increase global action on nuclear security through the Global Dialogue on Nuclear Security and on disarmament verification through the International Partnership on Disarmament Verification.

Mr Jeremy Edwards has over 25 years of experience working with the UK National Nuclear Laboratory, and its forerunner organisations. Jeremy brings knowledge and awareness of the UK civil nuclear programme, complemented by specific technical skills. These include the development and use of optioneering and evaluation processes for complex projects, including the long-term liabilities associated with contaminated land; and environmental safety assessment to major operational and capital build projects supporting the UK civil nuclear programme on a diverse range of projects and technical issues across the UK civil nuclear estate; and engineering project delivery.

Mr George Foster (Amport Risk Limited) is the Director of Amport Risk Limited. George has a proven track record as a decisive and inclusive executive, spanning the protection of critical human, data and infrastructure assets in areas of sensitive national planning, nuclear security, commercial enterprise security, intelligence, national contingency planning and crisis response, with successful engagement across Government and at Board level and below.

Dr Ross Peel (King's College London) is a Research and Knowledge Transfer Manager at the Centre for Science and Security Studies (CSSS), based in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London. He holds a PhD in nuclear engineering and a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering and has worked in both academia and the nuclear industry.