Browse Overarching Requirements

You find here below the list of Overarching Requirements from available e-versions of the IAEA Safety Standards. Should you know the publication number, you may just scroll down until you find the suite of overarching requirements it contains and then select the one you are interested in. If you click on the title or the arrow, the text of the overarching requirements statement will be displayed below its title.

You may also use the search function to find quickly those overarching requirements that include a word or a sequence of words in their title or overarching requirement statement.

When you then click again on the icon in the box that displays the overarching requirement statement, you will be directed into the document at the place of that overarching requirement. From then you may further navigate within this document or use the information available to identify other documents related to that overarching requirement.​


IMPORTANT NOTE: Some of the Safety Requirements are not yet formatted with overarching requirements (NS-R-3 (Rev. 1) currently under revision, NS-R-5 (Rev. 1) currently under revision to be issued as SSR-4). You may access these through the Browse by Publications mode. For SSR-6 you may use the Browse overall recommendations mode to access another advanced function and thus access directly the content of the publication.


Search Overarching Requirements (ORs)

The government shall establish a national policy and strategy for safety, the implementation of which shall be subject to a graded approach in accordance with national circumstances and with the radiation risks associated with facilities and activities, to achieve the fundamental safety objective and to apply the fundamental safety principles established in the Safety Fundamentals.
The government shall establish and maintain an appropriate governmental, legal and regulatory framework for safety within which responsibilities are clearly allocated.
The government, through the legal system, shall establish and maintain a regulatory body, and shall confer on it the legal authority and provide it with the competence and the resources necessary to fulfil its statutory obligation for the regulatory control of facilities and activities.
The government shall ensure that the regulatory body is effectively independent in its safety related decision making and that it has functional separation from entities having responsibilities or interests that could unduly influence its decision making.
The government shall expressly assign the prime responsibility for safety to the person or organization responsible for a facility or an activity, and shall confer on the regulatory body the authority to require such persons or organizations to comply with stipulated regulatory requirements, as well as to demonstrate such compliance.
The government shall stipulate that compliance with regulations and requirements established or adopted by the regulatory body does not relieve the person or organization responsible for a facility or an activity of its prime responsibility for safety.
Where several authorities have responsibilities for safety within the regulatory framework for safety, the government shall make provision for the effective coordination of their regulatory functions, to avoid any omissions or undue duplication and to avoid conflicting requirements being placed on authorized parties.
The government shall make provision for emergency preparedness to enable a timely and effective response in a nuclear or radiological emergency.
The government shall establish an effective system for protective actions to reduce undue radiation risks associated with unregulated sources (of natural or artificial origin) and contamination from past activities or events, consistent with the principles of justification and optimization.
The government shall make provision for the safe decommissioning of facilities, the safe management and disposal of radioactive waste arising from facilities and activities, and the safe management of spent fuel.
The government shall make provision for building and maintaining the competence of all parties having responsibilities in relation to the safety of facilities and activities.
The government shall ensure that, within the governmental and legal framework, adequate infrastructural arrangements are established for interfaces of safety with arrangements for nuclear security and with the State system of accounting for, and control of, nuclear material.
The government shall make provision, where necessary, for technical services in relation to safety, such as services for personal dosimetry, environmental monitoring and the calibration of equipment.
The government shall fulfil its respective international obligations, participate in the relevant international arrangements, including international peer reviews, and promote international cooperation and assistance to enhance safety globally.
The regulatory body shall make arrangements for analysis to be carried out to identify lessons to be learned from operating experience and regulatory experience, including experience in other States, and for the dissemination of the lessons and for their use by authorized parties, the regulatory body and other relevant authorities.
The regulatory body shall structure its organization and manage its resources so as to discharge its responsibilities and perform its functions effectively; this shall be accomplished in a manner commensurate with the radiation risks associated with facilities and activities.
The regulatory body shall perform its functions in a manner that does not compromise its effective independence.
The regulatory body shall employ a sufficient number of qualified and competent staff, commensurate with the nature and the number of facilities and activities to be regulated, to perform its functions and to discharge its responsibilities.
The regulatory body shall establish, implement, and assess and improve a management system that is aligned with its safety goals and contributes to their achievement.
The regulatory body shall obtain technical or other expert professional advice or services as necessary in support of its regulatory functions, but this shall not relieve the regulatory body of its assigned responsibilities.

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