The Joint Convention took place at IAEA Headquarters in Vienna, Austria, from 21 May to 1 June 2018

Romania took part in the Sixth Review Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management (hereinafter referred to as the Joint Convention), organized pursuant to Article 30 of the Joint Convention, which took place at IAEA Headquarters in Vienna, Austria, from 21 May to 1 June 2018.

The Romanian delegation to the Sixth Review Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Joint Convention was led by the President of CNCAN, Mr Rodin Traicu.

Delegates from more than 78 countries took part in the review meeting, where they presented, discussed and reviewed the national reports, which addressed the measures taken by the contracting parties to fulfil their obligations under the Joint Convention.

The Joint Convention is the first legally binding international instrument in the field of the safety of radioactive waste and spent fuel management. Under it, the contracting parties submit their national reports on the work carried out, to be reviewed by the other parties in a process that seeks to encourage continuous improvement.

During the first week of the meeting, the representatives presented and debated the national reports with a view to identifying challenges, suggestions, good practices and areas of good performance. The agenda of the second week focused on the results of the review.

The review meeting also included topical sessions on recent developments and challenges related to the safe management of sealed radioactive sources, general safety issues, and the challenges and public acceptance issues associated with the storage and disposal of high-level radioactive waste.

Romania ratified the Joint Convention, adopted in Vienna on 5 September 1997, by Law no. 105/1999 of 16 June 1999, which entered into force on 21 June 1999. The Joint Convention was signed by the National Commission for Nuclear Activities Control, in its capacity as the national authority responsible for applying the provisions of the Joint Convention.

For the sixth meeting, eight country groups were established, and Romania was part of group 7, alongside other countries with a nuclear industry such as Brazil, Germany, Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates, but also with countries without spent nuclear fuel, in which disused sealed radiation sources are the main type of waste they manage.

Romania's National Report for the Sixth Review Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Joint Convention was prepared by CNCAN during 2017. The main institutions that contributed to the preparation of Romania's National Report were: Societatea Națională Nuclearelectrica S.A. (SNN), Cernavodă NPP Branch, the “Horia Hulubei” National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering (IFIN-HH), the Institute for Nuclear Research (ICN) Pitești Branch, the National Uranium Company and the Nuclear and Radioactive Waste Agency (ANDR).