Hanson

The United States is fully engaged in supporting the development and peaceful use of nuclear energy in the Philippines through its new 123 Agreement, Nuclear Regulatory Commission chair Christopher Hanson said during a visit to the nation last week.

“We’re going to see a real increase in the tempo of engagement from the U.S. on the nuclear safety aspects,” Hanson said during a media roundtable in Makati City.

New partnership: Hanson’s visit to the Philippines followed the entry into force on July 2 of the landmark civil nuclear cooperation agreement (known as a 123 Agreement) between Washington and Manila to utilize nuclear energy safely. It establishes the legal framework for significant nuclear cooperation with other countries—in areas such as technical exchanges, scientific research, and safeguards discussions—as long as the partner adheres to a set of strong nonproliferation requirements.

The United States is supporting a junior professional officer (JPO) position in the International Atomic Energy Association to work on spent nuclear fuel management. The role is for an associate project officer-spent fuel management, who will be based in Vienna, Austria, and work under the direct supervision of the technical leader of the spent fuel management team in the Division of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology.