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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
Standards Program
The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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Deep geologic repository progress—2025 Update
Editor's note: This article has was originally published in November 2023. It has been updated with new information as of June 2025.
Outside my office, there is a display case filled with rock samples from all over the world. It contains a disk of translucent, orange salt from the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M.; a core of white-and-bronze gneiss from the site of the future deep geologic repository in Eurajoki, Finland; several angular chunks of fine-grained, gray claystone from the underground research laboratory at Bure, France; and a piece of coarse-grained granite from the underground research tunnel in Daejeon, South Korea.
19th International Conference on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis (PSA 2025)
Mr. Poghosyan brings over 20 years of experience in nuclear safety, with a strong specialization in safety assessment—particularly in probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) and risk-informed decision-making. He holds a PhD in Nuclear Engineering and has extensive expertise in the development of nuclear power plant (NPP) risk models, risk-informed applications, and national regulations related to reactor design safety and risk analysis.
Since 2016, Mr. Poghosyan has been serving at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), where he currently holds the position of Technical Lead for Safety Assessment. In this role, he coordinates the IAEA’s activities in the areas of PSA and deterministic safety assessment (DSA). He is also leading the development of IAEA Safety Guides on PSA, as well as a new Safety Guide focused on the safety demonstration of innovative reactor technologies, including small modular reactors (SMRs) and other non-water-cooled designs.
Mr. Poghosyan represents the IAEA in several international working groups on PSA, including the ASME/ANS PRA Standard Committee and the OECD/NEA Working Group on Risk Assessment (WGRISK).
Last modified June 5, 2025, 1:06pm CDT