8 Mar (NucNet): The US government-owned Sandia National Laboratories has announced the opening of a new institute that it says will cultivate “a culture of responsible nuclear energy management” in the Middle East.
The Gulf Nuclear Energy Infrastructure Institute (GNEII) opened in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, with an inaugural class of Emirati nuclear professionals for a 12-week pilot programme.
GNEII (pronounced “genie”) will help train professionals on the safe and secure handling of materials that could be a threat to the US. Sandia said governments in other parts of the world have expressed interest in GNEII and it will become a model for other regional programmes.
The core programme will cover nuclear energy basics such as systems thinking, basic nuclear physics, the nuclear fuel cycle, nonproliferation, power plant operations, radiological materials management, nuclear energy safety, safeguards and security.
Sandia said yesterday that it had been prompted to develop the institute because of growing interest among Middle Eastern nations in establishing nuclear power programmes.
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