The regulator’s Vice President, Pilar Lucio, has highlighted the importance of integrating technical and social dimensions in radioactive waste management projects

The conference has focused on the key role of public participation in the sustainability and acceptance of nuclear programmes

The Spanish Nuclear Safety Council has taken part in the International Conference on Stakeholder Engagement for Nuclear Power Programmes, organised by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and held this week in Vienna, Austria. This international forum responds to the growing interest of Member States in strengthening transparency and public involvement as essential pillars for the sustainability in all nuclear programmes’ phases.

The CSN Vice President, Pilar Lucio, has delivered a keynote address during the sessions entitled “Closing the Circle: Stakeholder Synergy in Nuclear Waste Solutions,” where she emphasised that the challenge of societal acceptance in radioactive waste management cannot be addressed only through technical solutions or by one-way communication strategies. “Stakeholder engagement is not a complementary tool, but a structural component of the project success,” she stated.

Lucio has proposed a dual approach that integrates technical excellence with planned and flexible public participation from the earliest stages of a project. In this regard, she has stressed out the need to apply the same level of planning, resourcing and rigour to stakeholder engagement as is applied to the technical design of projects.

The key points raised in her intervention included the importance of communication strategies tailored to specific contexts, and the need to embrace transparency not as a concession, but as a foundational principle. She further highlighted that the convergence of technical and social solutions builds trust when communities feel their knowledge and concerns have genuinely influenced the decision-making process.

Lucio also has underscored the importance of continuous regulatory involvement throughout the entire radioactive waste management process as a cornerstone of public trust. Ongoing oversight and transparent communication by the regulator provide assurance that the protection of people and the environment remains the overriding priority. “By ensuring that regulatory bodies remain integrated at every stage of engagement and decision-making, we reinforce a process that is not only technically robust, but also socially accepted.”

The IAEA International Conference on Stakeholder Engagement for Nuclear Power Programmes