An international symposium will gather more than 300 experts next Monday in the Chinese city of Shanghai to discuss world experiences in effectively managing nuclear power plants beyond their initial design lives.

The four-day scientific event from 15 to 18 October is organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in cooperation with China Atomic Energy Authority (CAEA) and China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), and comes at a time of renewed interest in and rising expectations for the use of nuclear power for generating electricity.

Participants from 35 countries and 5 international organizations will focus on the integrity and reliability of system structures and components in assuring economical, safe and reliable long term operation.

"This is especially important as the world′s fleet of 439 nuclear power plants has been operating, on average, for more than 20 years," said Yuri Sokolov, IAEA Deputy Director General for Nuclear Energy, ahead of the event.

"Even though the design life of a nuclear power plant is typically for 30 or 40 years, it is quite feasible that many nuclear power plants will be able to operate in excess of their design lives," he added.

Detailed information on the Shanghai Symposium, the second such event following the one held in 2002 in Budapest, Hungary, can be found at Second International Symposium on Nuclear Power Plant Life Management.

Interview requests with experts attending the event should be sent to Mr. DOU Yikang, from Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Research and Design Institute (SNERDI), at douyk at snerdi.com.cn, Tel: [+86-21] 648 502 20 29 111, Mobile: [+86-130] 231 803 25. For general media queries, please contact the IAEA Division of Public Information at press at iaea.org.