Since its foundation, the RSK has been engaged in the exchange of experiences with partner organisations from other countries which - as is the case with the RSK - are independent commissions established in accordance with national regulations. The peer review of occurrences and findings in the context of safety, the joint discussion of technical issues and the exchange on different approaches to safety concepts form an essential prerequisite for the further development of reactor safety and the safe disposal of radioactive wastes in an effective manner.
In addition to the exchange of meeting results, the international cooperation of the RSK concentrates on regular joint meetings on selected topics with the current partner organisations:
- Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS), USA
- Eidgenössische Kommission für nukleare Sicherheit (KNS), Switzerland
- Groupe permanent d'experts pour les réacteurs nucléaires (GPR), France
- Nuclear Safety Commission (NSC), Japan
- Reaktorsäkerhetsnämnden (RSN), Sweden
Bilateral Meetings
In the past, bilateral meetings were usually held at intervals of two to three years with the Swiss commission NSC (Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Commission) and the French commissions GPR (Groupe Permanent Réacteurs) and GPD (Groupe Permanent Déchets), hosted on an alternating basis.
After the dissolution of the NSC and establishment of the CNS (Swiss Federal Commission for Nuclear Safety), the CNS and the RSK continue cooperation in the field of reactor safety.
The NUCLEAR WASTE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION (ESK), established in June 2008, continues cooperation in the field of radioactive waste management with the GPD and the CNS and ENSI (Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate).
Quadripartite Meeting
A major event of international cooperation is the so-called “Quadripartite Meeting”, a joint conference of ACRS/ACNW, GPR/GPD, the NSC and the RSK held at intervals of four to five years, hosted on a rotational basis . The first such conference took place in the United States in 1988, the penultimate 2002 in Berlin at the invitation of the RSK, and the last in Washington DC from 18 to 20 October 2006.