Acceptance
"Acceptance" or "approval" of a treaty express the consent of a state to be bound by a treaty and have the same legal effect as ratification. In the practice of certain states acceptance and approval have been used instead of ratification when, at a national level, constitutional law does not require the treaty to be ratified by the head of state.
Accession
"Accession" is the act whereby a state accepts the opportunity to become a party to a treaty which that state has not signed prior to its entry into force. Accession thus occurs after the treaty has entered into force and has the same legal effect as ratification, acceptance or approval. The conditions under which accession may occur and the procedure involved depend on the provisions of the treaty.
Approval
"Acceptance" or "approval" of a treaty express the consent of a state to be bound by a treaty and have the same legal effect as ratification. In the practice of certain states acceptance and approval have been used instead of ratification when, at a national level, constitutional law does not require the treaty to be ratified by the head of state.
Decommissioning
Decommissioning refers to the steps leading to the release of a facility, other than a disposal facility, from regulatory control. These steps include the processes of decontamination and dismantling (Article 2.(b) of the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on teh Safety of Radioactive Waste Management).
Disused source
A disused source is a radioactive source that is no longer used, and is not intended to be used, for the practice for which an authorization has been granted (Article I.1. of the Code of Conduct on the Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources).
Legally binding
When an international instrument is legally binging, States are bound under international law by the obligations arising out of such instruments. States normally become bound to legally binding multilateral instruments (e.g. conventions, treaties) by way of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession. With this step, the State becomes a State Party or a Contracting Party of the relevant instrument and is bound by it in its relations with other State Parties or Contracting Parties. IAEA safety standards and codes of conduct are not legally binding but may become legally binding for a State upon incorporation into its national law.
National nuclear power infrastructure
An infrastructure that provides governmental, legal, regulatory, managerial, technological, human and industrial support for the Nuclear Power Programme throughout its life cycle.
NEPIO (The)
Nuclear Energy Programme Implementing Organisation. An organization that will be formed by the Government to study and initially promote the development of the Nuclear Power Programme, producing a comprehensive study of the issues and conditions necessary for the successful implementation of nuclear power in the country.
Nuclear Activities
As used in this e-learning module, the term "nuclear activities" refers to any activities involving the use of nuclear and other radioactive material; the production, use, import and export of radiation sources for industrial, research and medical purposes; the transport of radioactive material; the siting, construction, commisioning, operation and decommissioning of nuclear and other facilities; radioactive waste management activities and site rehabilitation.
Nuclear Facility
"Nuclear facility" is "a facility (including associated buildings and equipment) in which nuclear material is produced, processed, used, handled, stored or disposed od, if damage to or interference with such facility could lead to release of significant amounts of radiation or radioactive material" (Article 3.(d) of the Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material).
Nuclear Incident
"Nuclear incident" means "any occurrence or series of ocurrences having the same origin which causes nuclear damage or, but only with respect to preventive measures, creates a grave and imminent threat of causing such damage" (Article 2.3 of the Protocol to Amend the Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage, Article I.(i) of the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage).
Nuclear Installation
(1)"Nuclear Installation" means for each Contracting Party any land-based civil nuclear power plants under its jurisdiction including such storage, handling and treatment facilities for radioactive materials as are on the same site and are directly related to the operation of the nuclear power plant (Article 2(i) of the Convention on Nuclear Safety).
(2)"Nuclear installation" means: (i) any nuclear reactor other than one with which a means of sea or air transport is equipped for use as a source of power, whether for propulsion thereof or for any other purpose; (ii) any factory using nuclear fuel for the production of nuclear material or any factory for the processing of nuclear material, including any factory for the reprocessing of irradiated nuclear fuel; (iii) any facility where nuclear material is stored, other than storage incidental to the carriage of such material; (from Article I.1(j) of the Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage and Article I.(b) of the Annex to Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage).
Nuclear Liability
Nuclear liability refers to liability for nuclear damage caused by a nuclear incident in a nuclear installation or during transport of nuclear material to and from such an installation.
Nuclear or Radiological Emergency
A nuclear or radiological emergency is an emergency in which there is, or is perceived to be, a hazard due to (a) the energy resulting from a nuclear chain reaction or from the decay of the products of a chain reaction; or (b) radiation exposure (from the IAEA Safety Glossary).
Nuclear Power Programme
All the activities and projects aimed at developing nuclear power and activities entailing sustained attention to many interrelated activities over a long duration and involving a commitment of at least 100 years throughout the installation, planning, preparation, construction, operation, decommissioning and waste disposal management.
A Nuclear Power Programme will require the establishment of a sustainable national infrastructure that provides governmental, legal, regulatory, managerial, technological, human and industrial support for the programme, throughout its life cycle.
Radiation exposure
Radiation exposure is the state or condition of being subject to irradiation. IAEA safety standards distinguish between three types of exposure situations: planned exposure situations, emergency exposure situations and existing exposure situations. There are three categories of exposure: occupational exposure, public exposure and medical exposure.
Radiation source
As used in this e-learning module, a radiation source is a radiation generator, or a radioactive source or other radioactive material outside the nuclear fuel cycles of research and power reactors.
Radioactive material
As used in this e-learning module, radioactive material refers to any material that needs to be subject to regulatory control because of its radioactivity, including nuclear material.
Radioactive source
(1) A radioactive source is radioactive material that is permanently sealed in a capsule or closely bonded, in a solid form and which is not exempt from regulatory control. It also means any radioactive material released if the radioactive source is leaking or broken, but does not mean material encapsulated for disposal, or nuclear material within the nuclear fuel cycles of research and power reactors (Article I.1. of the Code of Conduct on the Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources). (2) A radioactive source is a source containing radioactive material that is used as a source of radiation (from the IAEA Safety Glossary).
Radioactive waste
Radioactive waste means radioactive material in gaseous, liquid or solid form for which no further use is foreseen (from the IAEA Safety Glossary).
Radioactive waste management
All activities, administrative and operational, that are involved in the handling, pre-treatment, treatment, conditioning, transport, storage and disposal of radioactive waste.all activities, including decommissioning activities, that relate to the handling, pretreatment, treatment, conditioning, storage, or disposal of radioactive waste, excluding off-site transportation. It may also involve discharges (Article 2.(i) of the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radiaoctive Waste Management).
Radioactivity
Radioactivity is the phenomenon whereby atoms undergo spontaneous random disintegration, usually accompanied by the emission of radiation. In IAEA publications, radioactivity should be used only to refer to the phenomenon. To refer to the physical quantity or to an amount of a radioactive substance, use activity (from the IAEA Safety Glossary).
Ratification
Ratification defines the international act whereby a state indicates its consent to be bound to a treaty. In the case of multilateral treaties, the usual procedure is for the depositary to collect the ratifications of all states, keeping all parties informed of the situation. The period of time between signature and ratification grants states the necessary opportunity to seek the required approval for the treaty on the domestic level and to enact the necessary legislation to give domestic effect to that treaty.
Safeguards
Safeguards refer to measures to ensure that States' undertakings to use nuclear material only for peaceful purposes are upheld.
Safety
Safety refers to the protection of people and the environment against radiation risks, and the safety of facilities and activities that give rise to radiation risks.
SDRs
SDRs means "Special Drawing Rights", the unit of account defined by the International Monetary Fund and used by it for its own operations and transactions (from Article 2.4 of the Protocol to Amend the Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage and Article I.(c) of the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage).
Security
Security refers to the prevention and detection of, and response to, theft, sabotage, unauthorized access, illegal transfer or other malicious acts involving nuclear material, other radioactive substances or their associated facilities.
Spent fuel
Speant fuel means nuclear fuel that has been irradiated in and permanently removed from a reactor core (Article 2.(n) of the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management).
Spent fuel management
Speant fuel management means all activities that relate to the handling or storage of spent fuel, excluding off-site transportation. It may also involve discharges (Article 2.(o) of the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management).