Nuclear Pep Talk: 10 Questions about IAEA Nuclear Safeguards
Channel: NUCLEAR PEP TALK
Date: 2022-06-04

I am Ksenia Pirnavskaia - your local guide into a nuclear world. Nuclear Pep Talk is a platform where we break myths and fears about everything NUCLEAR. In each episode, I ask 10 questions to experts, scientists, activists, politicians, and youth that deal with nuclear issues on professional and personal levels to learn and explore rather than fear and further ignorance.

Noah Mayhew is a Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Research Associate. In his research, he is focusing on nuclear non-proliferation, IAEA safeguards and nuclear verification, arms control, US-Russia relations, and the nexus between nuclear security and the peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology. You can find his work published by Stiftung Entwicklung und Frieden, Arms Control Today, The Nonproliferation Review, The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority. Noah is also a Commissioner on the trilateral Young Deep Cuts Commission and the Co-Chair of the Emerging Voices Network’s NPT Working Group. He calls himself a Resident Safeguards Nerd. I call him simply the Duke of Safeguards.

In this episode, Noah will walk us through the nuts and bolts of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Safeguards discussing their importance to the global non-proliferation regime. Watch to learn more!

Opportunities:
1) A Call for Applications: Young Women in Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Mentorship Programme 2nd Edition (VCDNP)/ Deadline July 8 - https://vcdnp.org/ywngi-2nd-edition-application/

2) Southeast Asia and Pacific Educational Online Course: Deep Dive into the Nuclear-Test-Ban (CTBTO Youth Group & CTBTO)/ Deadline June 9 - https://youthgroup.ctbto.org/node/2656 

3) OPANAL Internship Program Earmarked for the Caribbean Member - States - https://www.opanal.org/en/opportunities/

Bonus! 
4) Hiroshima-ICAN Academy 2022 (application will open on July 1)  - https://hiroshimaforpeace.com/en/hiroshimaicanacademy2022application/

Useful sources:
1) IAEA Safeguards Overview: Comprehensive Safeguards Agreements and Additional Protocols (IAEA) - https://www.iaea.org/publications/factsheets/iaea-safeguards-overview
2) Basics of IAEA Safeguards (IAEA) - https://www.iaea.org/topics/basics-of-iaea-safeguards
3) VCDNP Report on IAEA Safeguards: Staying Ahead of the Game (VCDNP) - https://vcdnp.org/vcdnp-report-on-iaea-safeguards-staying-ahead-of-the-game/
4) IAEA Safeguards as the NPT’s Verification Mechanism (NTI) - https://www.nti.org/news/new-nti-paper-explores-evolution-and-future-iaea-safeguards-system/
5) A Lexical History of the State-Level Concept and Issues for Today (Noah Mayhew) - https://vcdnp.org/a-lexical-history-of-the-state-level-concept-and-issues-for-today/
6) Laura Rockwood, the Queen of Safeguards - https://twitter.com/laura_rockwood

Follow Noah Mayhew on social media:
Twitter: @atomic_yozhik
https://twitter.com/atomic_yozhik

Follow me on social media:
Twitter: @pirnavskaia 
https://twitter.com/pirnavskaia
Instagram: @ksenechkin
https://www.instagram.com/ksenechkin/

Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
02:08 Warning 
03:39 What is the IAEA?
04:47 What are the safeguards?
06:16 Why do we need safeguards?
07:37 When and how were safeguards established?
10:07 Opportunity Break
12:30 What kind of safeguards agreements exist?
16:28 What is the Additional protocol and what’s the whole fuss about it?
18:53 Coffee Break + Why is Noah doing safeguards?
20:34 How does the IAEA verify the compliance?
24:07 What kind of inspections may be carried out?
26:17 Can you explain states’ reasoning to conclude and comply with safeguards?
28:13 What are the challenges to the safeguards system and how does the IAEA address them?
32:26 Nuclear Acronym of the Day - IAEA

Thanks for watching!