The International Conference on Enhancing Nuclear Safety and Security through Technical and Scientific Support Organizations (TSOs) was held at the IAEA Headquarters in Vienna, Austria from December 2-6, 2024. The conference was organized by IAEA’s TSO Forum (TSOF) which is chaired by Bel V’s Director General. The conference was clearly successful as it attracted 370 participants from 87 Member States and 7 international organizations. Many members of ETSON and in particular Bel V have participated to the event. 

The key highlights of the conference are:

• IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi emphasized TSOs' growing importance as more countries adopt nuclear energy for environmental and energy goals
• The conference focused on developing and strengthening technical and scientific capabilities for enhanced nuclear safety and security
• Special attention was given to operational legacy situations and emerging challenges, including small modular reactors (SMRs) and fusion technology

This conference gave also the opportunity for the Belgian TSO, Bel V to present different topics : 

• TSO implication in the challenging LTO-project of the Doel 4 and Tihange 3 nuclear power plants in Belgium stressing the need to apply a graded approach in its technical review of the ageing issue, given the challenging time constraint.
• Developing leadership skills within TSOs from evaluation to expectations highlighting a better integration of leadership issues within performance appraisals and a deeper integration of leadership issues within safety culture assessment. 
• Building capacity for independent compliance verification measurements of radioactive waste, in accordance with the clearance levels prescribed by the Belgian regulatory framework enhancing the oversight capability of Bel V looking ahead to future expected increase in clearance volumes from decommissioning activities. 
• General presentation of SITEX.Network (in collaboration IRSN and PSI) aiming to foster a high quality and sustainable expertise function in safety of radioactive waste management within a dynamic network.
• Full system decontamination of the primary circuit at Doel 3 & Tihange 2 NPPs that can be considered as a success with a higher than expected decontamination factor, an acceptable volume of generated radioactive waste and an overall level of safety maintained throughout the operations as well as valuable experience feedback for the similar decontaminations planned in the coming years.

During the conference several special sessions were organized. One in particular presented the TSO self-assessment methodology (TOSCA) and key challenges of the implementation of TOSCA plus two experiences feedback from national workshops recently implemented in Ghana and Armenia . The session underlined that TOSCA as a 3D management tool (regulatory functions, national priorities and development steps) is mature and flexible enough for the implementation in various contexts and thus members states.

The conference also featured the ETSON Awards for young professionals, recognizing outstanding papers in nuclear safety research. 

The key conclusions of the conference are:

1. Research infrastructure is essential for nuclear safety evolution
2. TSOs must contribute to safety of innovative technologies (AI, fusion, SMRs)
3. International collaboration between TSOs is increasingly important
4. Stronger relationships between TSOs and regulatory bodies are needed
5. Attracting and retaining younger generations in the field is crucial
6. Knowledge exchange between mature TSOs and embarking countries is vital

Finally, the event emphasized the importance of TSOs in ensuring nuclear safety and security while adapting to rapidly changing technological and environmental challenges.