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True diversity in the workplace means heightened standards for all, writes Adriènne Kelbie in her final external article before stepping down as Chief Executive of the UK's Office for Nuclear Regulation.

The International Atomic ¶¶Òõ´«Ã½ÔÚÏß Agency has a clear mandate, but the climate crisis and the economic impact of the pandemic mean that, on behalf of its Member States, it needs to have a more visible presence than has traditionally been the case, its director general said yesterday during the ¶¶Òõ´«Ã½ÔÚÏß Nuclear Fuel Cycle forum, which is being held this week by the US Nuclear ¶¶Òõ´«Ã½ÔÚÏß Institute and ¶¶Òõ´«Ã½ÔÚÏß Nuclear Association. Speaking as part of the forum's first session - Executive Panel: From Plans to Actions - Rafael Mariano Grossi said the IAEA is therefore collaborating more than ever with other organisations to offer its "unique perspective".

Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority has today issued an administrative order to Tokyo Electric Power Company preventing it from transporting nuclear fuel stored at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant or loading it into reactors. The order - issued in response to a series of security breaches at the site - will delay Tepco's planned restart of unit 7 at the plant in Niigata Prefecture.

The UK's Office for Nuclear Regulation has today provided EDF with permission for Reactors 3 and 4 at the Hunterston nuclear power plant in North Ayrshire, Scotland to return to service for a limited period of operation. This will be the power station’s final period of operation before moving into the defueling phase.

Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima Oyj has been granted a permit by the country's Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority to load fuel into the reactor of the Olkiluoto 3 EPR. The unit, construction of which began in 2005, is scheduled to enter commercial operation early next year.

Nuclear regulation requires "humbleness and openness", Olivier Gupta, Director-General of France's nuclear safety regulator, told OECD Nuclear ¶¶Òõ´«Ã½ÔÚÏß Agency Director General William Magwood in a WebChat yesterday. Gupta has been Director-General of the Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire since 2016 and has been chair of Western European Nuclear Regulators Association since 2019.

EDF notified France's nuclear safety regulator, the Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire, on 3 March of a significant event concerning a design anomaly on three nozzles of the main primary system of the EPR reactor under construction at Flamanville. The concerned nozzles were produced in 2011 based on a 2006 design file. The regulator has asked EDF how it plans to deal with this anomaly.

The UK's Office for Nuclear Regulation has today provided EDF with permission for Reactors 3 and 4 at the Hinkley Point B power station in Somerset, England, to return to service for a limited period of operation. This follows ONR's assessment of whether cracking observed in the graphite bricks that form the reactor core could compromise the key nuclear safety requirements.

Tokyo Electric Power Company has failed in its duty to protect nuclear materials at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture, according to Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority. A series of security breaches has prompted the regulator to suspend the process for inspections needed to restart unit 7 at the plant.

Rosatom has received regulatory approval to start the commercial operation of the second VVER-1200 reactor at the Leningrad nuclear power plant in western Russia, which is scheduled for the end of this month. The existing Leningrad plant site in Sosnovy Bor has four RBMK-1000 units, while Leningrad II will have four VVER-1200 units.

Becoming a more modern, risk-informed regulator remains a key goal of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, its chairman Christopher Hanson said during his opening address to the regulator's 33rd Regulatory Information Conference. Hanson, who was sworn in as a commissioner in June 2020, was designated chairman of the NRC by President Joe Biden in January this year.

The European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group has approved the preliminary report on a peer review of the new Belarusian nuclear power plant in Ostrovets. Adopted by consensus on 3 March, the report follows a mission by Ensreg technical experts to the plant site on 9 and 10 February.