IAEA Nuclear Energy Series

The decision to establish a nuclear power program is a significant undertaking by any country. Such a decision should be based on a commitment by the government to use nuclear power safely, securely and peacefully. This commitment requires establishing a sustainable national infrastructure including robust safeguards infrastructure supporting the functions of the State system of accounting for and control of nuclear material (SSAC). The IAEA has developed the Milestones Approach to help Member States embarking on nuclear power to plan and develop the necessary infrastructure in a phased way. Safeguards is one of the 19 infrastructure issues described in the Milestones Approach. The primary objective of this publication is to provide guidance and references for safeguards related activities that need to be carried out during each of the three phases of nuclear power infrastructure development in line with the nuclear power program implementation. This publication includes several case studies from different countries on how they developed their national safeguards infrastructure to meet the requirements of their nuclear power programs.