Nuclear safety officers dance The Big Apple
Story and Photo by John Temple Ligon Temple@TheColumbiaStar.com
For three days in the first week of November, Columbia was the host city for the Seventh International Network for Safety Assurance of Fuel Cycle Industries (INSAF) bringing a consortium of nuclear safety officers from around the world.

Junichi Oyama of Mitsubishi Nuclear Fuel plays the saxophone with Skip Pearson (l) while Westinghouse employees dance with Richard Durlach and Breedlove's Dance Group.

The goal of INSAF is to provide a forum to discuss topics related to the enhancement and maintenance of a world- class safety culture. The topics discussed at the meetings included safety regulations, safety training programs, safety event and emergency response planning, waste management, and public education.

Last year the same group met in Rio de Janeiro. Here in Columbia, the host team was put together by the Bluff Road office of Westinghouse Electric Company LLC.

Accommodations were at the Inn at USC.

There were 40 representatives from 14 different companies, all interested in the best safety practices and lessons learned in nuclear fuel cycle facilities. Eight countries were represented: Argentina, Brazil, France, Japan, South Africa, South Korea, Ukraine, and the United States.

The companies that participated in the information exchange included Areva, Conuar, Energoatom, Global Nuclear Fuel - Japan, Industrias Nucleares Do Brasil S.A., Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd., Korea Nuclear Fuel Co., Ltd, Mitsubishi Materials Corporation, Mitsubishi Nuclear Fuel Co., Ltd., Nuclear Fuel Industries, Ltd., Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (Pty) Ltd, Shaw Areva MOX Services LLC, and Westinghouse Electric Company LLC.

For their last night, the INSAF group gathered at the Big Apple at the corner of Park and Hampton, historical home of the Big Apple Dance. Columbia's Skip Pearson and his group provided the music, and Richard Durlach managed the dance lessons. Liquid Assets ran the bar, and Northern Exposure, the catering.