International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) seeks to be the world´s center of cooperation in the nuclear field. It was set up as the world´s "Atoms for Peace" organization in 1957 within the United Nations family. The Agency works with its Member States and multiple partners worldwide to promote safe, secure and peaceful nuclear technologies.
The IAEA Secretariat is headquartered at the Vienna International Centre in Vienna, Austria. Operational liaison and regional offices are located in Geneva, Switzerland; New York, USA; Toronto, Canada; and Tokyo, Japan. The IAEA runs or supports research centers and scientific laboratories in Vienna and Seibersdorf, Austria; Monaco; and Trieste, Italy. The IAEA Secretariat is a team of 2,200 multi-disciplinary professional and support staff from more than 90 countries.
IAEA programs and budgets are set through decisions of its policymaking bodies - the 35-member Board of Governors and the General Conference of all Member States. Reports on IAEA activities are submitted periodically or as cases warrant to the UN Security Council and UN General Assembly.
IAEA financial resources include the regular budget and voluntary contributions. The Regular Budget for 2006 amounts to €273,619,000. The target for voluntary contributions to the Technical Co-operation Fund for 2006 is $77.5 million.
The IAEA's mission is guided by the interests and needs of Member States, strategic plans and the vision embodied in the IAEA Statute. Three main pillars - or areas of work - underpin the IAEA's mission: Safety and Security; Science and Technology; and Safeguards and Verification.
As an independent international organization related to the United Nations (UN) system, the IAEA's relationship with the UN is regulated by special agreement. In terms of its Statute, the IAEA reports annually to the UN General Assembly and, when appropriate, to the Security Council regarding non-compliance by States with their nuclear safeguards obligations as well as on matters relating to international peace and security.
IAEA’s Power Reactor Information System (PRIS) constitutes the most complete data bank on nuclear power reactors in the world. PRIS covers two kinds of data: general and design information on power reactors, and information about operating experience with nuclear power plants. These data include country-level data on electricity generation and the role of nuclear power in national energy budgets. These data are available free of charge.
IAEA’s International Nuclear Information System (INIS) is a large information system on the peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology. INIS maintains a database which currently contains over 2.2 million bibliographic references covering fields such as nuclear reactors, reactor safety, nuclear fusion, applications of radiation and radioisotopes in medicine, agriculture, industry, and pest control as well as related fields such as nuclear chemistry, nuclear physics, and materials science. Legal and social aspects associated with nuclear energy are also covered. And, from 1992, the economic and environmental aspects of all non-nuclear energy sources are included in the scope. Additionally, INIS maintains a unique collection of full text non-conventional (grey) literature that would be difficult to obtain elsewhere.
Further reading
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) home page
