China Formally Commits to Complying with the IAEA's "Management of Disused Radioactive Sources Guidelines"

Following its political commitments to the "Code of Conduct on the Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources" and the "Guidance on the Import and Export of Radioactive Sources," China has made a commitment to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to comply with the "Management of Disused Radioactive Sources Guidelines" (hereinafter referred to as the "Disused Sources Guidelines"), marking a further improvement of China's international benchmarking system for the full chain and entire process of radioactive source management. The relevant information was officially published on the IAEA website on September 9.

The "Disused Sources Guidelines" is one of the two important supporting guidance documents of the IAEA's "Code of Conduct on the Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources," approved and issued by the Board of Governors in 2017. As an internationally applicable non-binding normative framework, the Guidelines provide a unified reference standard for the standardized management of disused radioactive sources by member states, covering key areas such as policy planning, legislative development, regulatory responsibilities, storage and transport, full-process control, and international cooperation. It identifies multiple management pathways including return to supplier, recycling and reuse, long-term storage, and safe disposal, adapting to the nuclear technology utilization development levels and regulatory systems of different countries.

Prior to making the external commitment, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (National Nuclear Safety Administration), based on domestic regulatory realities, conducted comprehensive and in-depth specialized analysis and demonstration. It systematically reviewed the background, framework, and core provisions of the "Disused Sources Guidelines," studied international best practices, and compared item by item the requirements of the "Disused Sources Guidelines" with China's "Ecological Environment Code of the People's Republic of China," "Regulations on the Safety and Protection of Radioisotopes and Radiation Apparatus," "Regulations on the Safety Management of Radioactive Waste," and supporting systems, comprehensively assessing implementation feasibility, institutional gaps, industry regulatory scenarios, and foreign-related security risks.

This commitment will strongly promote the deep benchmarking of China's disused radioactive source regulation against internationally accepted norms, help improve the closed-loop management system, and demonstrate China's responsibility as a major country participating in global radiation safety governance. Next, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (National Nuclear Safety Administration) will continue to deepen research on benchmarking against the "Disused Sources Guidelines" and continuously improve the radioactive source radiation safety regulatory system.