The INSC was formally set up on 11 November 1990 in Washington DC by 11 founding members including: the American Nuclear Society (ANS); the Argentinian Association of Nuclear Technology; the Atomic Energy Society of Japan; the Australian Nuclear Association; the Canadian Nuclear Society; the Chinese Nuclear Society; the European Nuclear Society, the Korean Nuclear Society; the Latin American Section of ANS; the Mexican Nuclear Society; and the Nuclear Energy Society of Taiwan.
Its primary mission was to foster ongoing cooperation, communication and exchange of information among the world’s nuclear societies, serve as a global NGO in nuclear matters of international importance, and represent the views and positions of nuclear professionals.
The INSC made its first major announcement at the United Nations conference on environment and development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 1992, with a statement titled “Nuclear energy in the 21st century.”
Poong Hyun Seong, chairman of the INSC, said the organisation has 38 national and regional member societies, with Women in Nuclear Global being the latest newcomer in 2020.
Mr Seong said the INSC is currently estimated to represent more than 120,000 nuclear professionals worldwide.
The organisation holds an NGO status with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). It has held general meetings twice a year for the past 30 years and has published various books and statements in line with its mission.
Mr Seong said the INSC is preparing a report on its vision of the role of nuclear power in tackling climate change and achieving carbon neutrality over the next 50 years, which is tentatively due mid-2022. Furthermore, two position papers will be released before the 2022 COP 27 climate conference to be held in Egypt.
The 30-year anniversary ceremony was initially scheduled for September 2020, but had to be pushed back to 2021 because of the global Covid-19 pandemic.
The ceremony was hosted by Brazil at its booth on the sidelines of the IAEA general conference in Vienna and was honoured by the agency’s director-general Rafael Grossi and Brazilian ambassador Carlos Duarte, who both gave keynote speeches.