Five International leaders pose for a group photo.

Pictured from left to right: Alan Cumming, Group Chief Operations and Performance Improvement, United Kingdom’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority; William “Ike” White, DOE, Office of Environmental Management; Christophe Oudot, Director, French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission; Pierre-Marie Abadie, CEO, French National Radioactive Waste Management Agency; and Fred Dermarkar, CEO, Authority, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited signed a Joint Statement while attending the Waste Management Symposia 2023.

To accomplish our mission, EM leverages best practices and lessons learned; and seeks innovative solutions to clean up nuclear legacy sites across the United States.

Current International Engagements

International Organizations

EM works closely with a number of entities including other Department of Energy (DOE) offices, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the IAEA Joint Convention (on the Safety of Spent Nuclear Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management), and the Nuclear Energy Agency.

EM also supports the U.S. State Department-sponsored Joint Standing Committee on Nuclear Energy Cooperation (JSCNEC), which provides the U.S. and partner countries with an opportunity to exchange information on nuclear policy and environmental remediation.

United Kingdom

Under a Statement of Intent (SOI), leaders from EM and the United Kingdom's (U.K.) Nuclear Decommissioning Authority National Nuclear Laboratory (NDA/NNL) collaborate throughout the year to discuss program management, technical challenges, and technology capabilities needed to address the shared decommissioning challenges. The SOI has also resulted in informational exchanges focused on best practice and benchmarking activities related to materials management, startup and commissioning approaches, deactivation and decommissioning (D&D), tank waste sludge management, and waste treatment/disposal.

Canada

Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) and EM are also facing similar issues across their sites, including aging infrastructure, nuclear materials disposal and decommissioning. Some of EM’s mission critical infrastructure is decaying rapidly and needs to be maintained and upgraded while other infrastructures need to be maintained in a safe state prior to D&D.

In March 2020, EM, NDA, and AECL signed a Trilateral Agreement to further extend the international collaboration and create additional opportunities for leveraging of funding, exchange of personnel, and joint program reviews. 

The three countries have focused ongoing collaboration in the following areas:

  • In Situ Decommissioning as a viable approach for safe, accelerated, and cost-effective remediation of nuclear facilities;
  • Best practices on design, construction, and operation of near surface disposal facilities;
  • Benchmark approaches to effective management and investment in infrastructure upgrades, repairs, and maintenance;
  • Decommissioning of nuclear legacy clean-up sites in a sustainable manner through activities such as incentivizing the supply chain, ensuring socioeconomic benefit to communities, and achieving carbon net zero by 2050;
  • Stakeholder engagement; and
  • Sustainability.

Japan

EM provides technical expertise and support to Japan in addressing the environmental challenges resulting from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) accident. The Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) and EM developed a draft roadmap to guide engagement on decommissioning in 2019-2020.   The roadmap includes a series of bilateral workshops and other government-government and industry-industry engagements.  EM held virtual workshops in May and July 2020 with METI and with U.S. and Japanese industry to exchange information on U.S. companies’ experience with decommissioning, and potential opportunities for collaboration on decommissioning projects in Japan. In 2021, EM worked with the U.S. State Department and other U.S. government agencies to develop interagency-approved language on the release of tritium water from the Fukushima NPP into the ocean waters.  In 2022, EM coordinated with the NRC to share U.S. data with the Government of Japan on NRC environment reviews conducted as part of reactor licensing.   

In addition, EM coordinates the Network of National Laboratories for Environmental Management and Stewardship (NNLEMS) in providing technical support to Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) in modeling radionuclides dispersion in ocean from discharged water, in connection with the radiological impact assessment of discharge of the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) treated water from Fukushima Daiichi.

Taiwan

EM works closely with the U.S. State Department by participating in the Joint Standing Committee on Civil Nuclear Cooperation (JSCCNC) between the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO).  The AIT-TECRO JSCCNC is led by the State Department. EM serves as co-chair of Working Group II on Waste Management and Environmental Restoration.  This engagement is important as Taiwan moves forward with plans to decommission all their nuclear power plants. EM's Working Group promotes the U.S. expertise and capabilities to support Taiwan in their decommissioning efforts. 

Arctic Countries

The Arctic Council is an intergovernmental forum that provides a means for promoting cooperation, coordination, and interaction among the Arctic States.  EM works with the Arctic Council’s Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP) Radioactivity Expert Group to ensure U.S. interests are represented and provides opportunities for EM experts to collaborate with other international experts on issues related to radiological monitoring around remediation sites. The AMAP geographical coverage extends from the High Arctic to the Sub-Arctic areas of Canada, the Kingdom of Denmark (Greenland and the Faroe Islands). Finland, Iceland, Norway, the Russian Federation, Sweden, and the United States. The work of the Arctic Council is currently on hold.  Russia holds the chairmanship of the council until May 2023.

DOE National Laboratories

DOE national laboratories have established ongoing partnerships in specific technical areas. One prominent example of this multi-national partnership with national labs, universities, and foreign counterparts to better understand the long-term performance of nuclear waste glass.  The team consists of representatives from Japan, France, Germany, Italy, U.K., and Belgium, and the U.S.  

Also, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is leading a team involving Hanford, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Vanderbilt University, Washington State University, and the Luela University of Technology in Sweden to explore the performance of low activity waste glass by investigating natural erosion of ancient hillforts in Sweden. 

EM regularly promotes our National Laboratories’ expertise by advancing collaboration with foreign countries/ international partners through Strategic Partnership Projects (SPPs).  SPPs allow EM DOE National Laboratories to share their expertise, knowledge, lessons learned, and environmental technologies with other international organizations working to address environmental waste management concerns.

International Travel

EM enables international travel for EM employees and facilitates foreign delegation visits to the US. 

For questions or additional information on EM international travel, please contact EMForeignTravel@doe.gov

EM Foreign Travel Coordinator:
Leisa Pope
Intergovernmental and Stakeholders Program
International Engagement/Foreign Travel
E-mail: Leisa.pope@em.doe.gov 

International News

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Agreements

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CONTACTS

Benjamin Rivera
International Engagement
Intergovernmental and Stakeholders Program
E-mail: Benjamin.Rivera@em.doe.gov 

Ana Han
Foreign Affairs Specialist
International Engagement
Intergovernmental and Stakeholders Program
E-mail: Ana.han@em.doe.gov