news

Dr Bismark Tyobeka, chief executive officer of the South African National Nuclear Regulator and NWU Council chairperson, says it is necessary to ensure that spent fuel and radioactive waste are safely managed.

 

Elected chair of the NWU Council in 2017, Bismark is no stranger to accolades and was a recipient of the NWU’s prestigious Alumni Award in 2013.

NWU Council chair presides over international nuclear convention

The NWU’s Council chairperson and nuclear safety expert, Dr Bismark Tyobeka, recently earned South Africa great honour in the nuclear field.

He did this by presiding over the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) sixth Joint Convention Review Meeting on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management. The meeting was held from 21 May to 1 June in Vienna, Austria.

 

Bismark, who is an alumnus of the NWU’s campus in Mahikeng, is the chief executive officer of the South African National Nuclear Regulator. He was elected as president of the sixth IAEA Joint Convention Review Meeting in May last year and presided over the Vienna meeting in this capacity.

 

As president of the review meeting, Bismark works closely with his colleagues of the Joint Convention to encourage constructive discussions on key issues that the contracting parties of the convention face. He engages with regional networks to help support IAEA member states who are not already contracting parties to the Joint Convention to obtain this status.

 

Careful management is crucial

 

In his opening remarks at the Joint Convention, Bismark highlighted the vital contribution nuclear technology and radioactive materials make to modern society.“As we continue to expand our application of nuclear technology, radioactive materials and radioactive sources, one cannot overemphasise the need to ensure the safe management of the spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste arising from these applications, to assure the protection of persons, property and the environment.

 

“It is also important to continue earning the trust of society at large that the continued and expanding applications of nuclear technologies are both safe and sustainable,” he said.

 

Joining hands to ensure safety

 

The Joint Convention is the first international, legally binding instrument in the field of safety of radioactive waste and spent fuel management. It has established an international peer-review process among contracting parties, which submit national reports on their work under the Convention for review by other parties in a process that aims to encourage continuous improvement.

 

This year, delegates from most of the 78 contracting parties attended the meeting to review their peers’ work in order to fulfil their obligations under the Convention.

 

Review meetings are held every three years. Nine countries, Botswana, Cuba, Jordan, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mexico, Niger, Peru and Serbia, have become parties to the Convention since the last meeting, which was held in 2015. South Africa became part of the Joint Convention in 2006.

 

 

 

The NWU & U

 

Please send us your comments, suggestions and any other contributions you would like to make, for instance photographs or news snippets.

 

We value your opinions and input – after all, the NWU & U belongs to us all.

Navigation

>

<

Next Article

previous article

sound

video

more info

click

Share

NWU & U  |

NWU & U  |

CONTENTS

He did this by presiding over the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) sixth Joint Convention Review Meeting on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management. The meeting was held from 21 May to 1 June in Vienna, Austria.

 

Bismark, who is an alumnus of the NWU’s campus in Mahikeng, is the chief executive officer of the South African National Nuclear Regulator. He was elected as president of the sixth IAEA Joint Convention Review Meeting in May last year and presided over the Vienna meeting in this capacity.

 

As president of the review meeting, Bismark works closely with his colleagues of the Joint Convention to encourage constructive discussions on key issues that the contracting parties of the convention face. He engages with regional networks to help support IAEA member states who are not already contracting parties to the Joint Convention to obtain this status.

 

Careful management is crucial

 

In his opening remarks at the Joint Convention, Bismark highlighted the vital contribution nuclear technology and radioactive materials make to modern society.“As we continue to expand our application of nuclear technology, radioactive materials and radioactive sources, one cannot overemphasise the need to ensure the safe management of the spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste arising from these applications, to assure the protection of persons, property and the environment.

 

“It is also important to continue earning the trust of society at large that the continued and expanding applications of nuclear technologies are both safe and sustainable,” he said.

 

Joining hands to ensure safety

 

The Joint Convention is the first international, legally binding instrument in the field of safety of radioactive waste and spent fuel management. It has established an international peer-review process among contracting parties, which submit national reports on their work under the Convention for review by other parties in a process that aims to encourage continuous improvement.

 

This year, delegates from most of the 78 contracting parties attended the meeting to review their peers’ work in order to fulfil their obligations under the Convention.

 

Review meetings are held every three years. Nine countries, Botswana, Cuba, Jordan, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mexico, Niger, Peru and Serbia, have become parties to the Convention since the last meeting, which was held in 2015. South Africa became part of the Joint Convention in 2006.

NWU & U