## Is ICRS15 the Most Important Nuclear Shielding Forum for the SMR Era?

More than 400 peer-reviewed papers on radiation shielding — covering SMRs, micro modular reactors, fusion, space, and medical applications — will be presented at the 15th International Conference on Radiation Shielding (ICRS15), running **October 25–29, 2026**, at Lotte Hotel Jeju, South Korea. The Korean Association for Radiation Protection announced the event on September 7. The conference marks the first time in 68 years that the ICRS series, which originated in Cambridge, UK in 1958 and convenes every four years, has been held in Korea.

ICRS15 is being held jointly with the **23rd American Nuclear Society (ANS) Radiation Protection and Shielding Division conference (RPSD 2026)**, a pairing that substantially elevates the event's reach into the North American regulatory and industry community. Three keynote speakers have been confirmed: Masumi Ishikawa, Chairman of Dosomiirai Technology Co., Ltd. (Japan); Craig Piercy, Executive Director of the American Nuclear Society; and Professor Hee-Seok Lee of POSTECH.

For the SMR sector specifically, the conference opens with a **dedicated SMR and micro modular reactor (MMR) workshop on October 25**, focusing on development status, commercialization challenges, and international cooperation frameworks.

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## Why Radiation Shielding Is a Critical SMR Design Variable

Radiation shielding is not a peripheral concern — it directly drives capital cost, site footprint, workforce exposure limits, and, ultimately, the [levelized cost of energy](https://smrintel.com/glossary/lcoe) for any reactor design. For conventional large light-water reactors, shielding design is mature. For SMRs and MMRs, it is anything but.

Compact SMR designs compress reactor components into smaller volumes, which can intensify local radiation fields and force shielding engineers to rethink geometries, materials, and [containment structure](https://smrintel.com/glossary/containment) configurations that have been standard for decades. Some advanced designs — fast-spectrum reactors, high-temperature gas-cooled reactors, and lead-cooled concepts — introduce neutron energy profiles that conventional shielding databases and codes were not optimized around.

The practical consequence: shielding uncertainty is one of the underappreciated contributors to FOAK cost overruns. If a design's shielding analysis is insufficiently validated, regulators require additional conservatism that translates directly into more concrete, more steel, and more complex construction sequencing. Getting shielding right — with validated computational methods and experimental benchmarks — is a prerequisite for credible NOAK cost projections that investors and offtakers can rely on.

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## Keynotes Signal Regulatory and Decommissioning Threads

The three confirmed keynote speakers cover distinct but intersecting domains.

**Masumi Ishikawa** leads Dosomiirai Technology, a firm established specifically to support response to the Fukushima Daiichi accident. His keynote on the current decommissioning status and ongoing technology development at Fukushima Daiichi is analytically relevant beyond Japan: the shielding and dosimetry challenges of decommissioning a damaged reactor are informing design requirements for next-generation plants, including passive safety features and improved [decay heat](https://smrintel.com/glossary/decay-heat) removal systems that reduce post-shutdown radiation source terms.

**Craig Piercy**, ANS Executive Director, will outline changes in the U.S. nuclear regulatory framework — a topic of acute interest given ongoing NRC work under Part 53, the new licensing pathway that SMR developers have been tracking closely. His presence at a shielding conference underscores that regulatory modernization and technical standards for advanced reactor shielding are not separate conversations.

**Professor Hee-Seok Lee** of POSTECH will address accelerator radiation shielding development in Korea and its future outlook — relevant context given Korea's expanding investment in particle accelerator infrastructure and the knowledge transfer between accelerator shielding and reactor shielding communities.

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## Korea's Strategic Positioning in Advanced Nuclear

Hosting ICRS for the first time in 68 years is a deliberate signal. South Korea has been aggressively expanding its nuclear export ambitions and domestic advanced reactor programs, with [Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power](https://smrintel.com/companies/khnp) pursuing international reactor deals and domestic institutions like [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute](https://smrintel.com/companies/kaeri) advancing next-generation designs.

ICRS15 Organizing Committee Chair Kyo-Yoon Kim framed it explicitly: "We hope that ICRS15 will serve as an opportunity to showcase Korea's research capabilities and international standing to the world."

The analysis here is straightforward. Nations that host major technical standards conferences accumulate soft influence over how those standards develop. If Korean researchers are presenting shielding methodologies and benchmarks at scale — across 400+ papers — those methods become reference points in regulatory submissions globally. That has long-term implications for which computational codes, which material databases, and which design margins become normalized in SMR licensing dossiers filed with the NRC, the [Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission](https://smrintel.com/glossary/cnsc), and other regulators.

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## The SMR/MMR Workshop: What to Watch

The October 25 workshop specifically targeting SMR and MMR commercialization is the session most relevant to this platform's audience. Based on the source material, the agenda is expected to cover technology development status for next-generation reactors, commercialization challenges, and directions for international cooperation.

The shielding angle is not academic. Commercialization of MMRs — the sub-10 MWe class of reactors targeting remote industrial and military applications — is acutely sensitive to shielding mass and volume. A micro reactor that requires a disproportionate shielding envelope loses its logistical and economic case relative to alternatives. Advances in high-density shielding materials, computational shielding optimization, and probabilistic dose assessment directly affect whether MMR concepts are commercially viable at their stated specifications.

Attendees from SMR developer programs should treat this workshop as a due diligence opportunity: the peer-reviewed shielding literature being presented across the full conference will surface validation gaps and methodological debates that will inevitably appear in regulatory review correspondence.

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## Key Takeaways

- **ICRS15 runs October 25–29, 2026**, at Lotte Hotel Jeju — the first time this quadrennial conference has been held in Korea since the series began in 1958.
- **More than 400 peer-reviewed papers** will be presented, co-hosted with the ANS Radiation Protection and Shielding Division conference (RPSD 2026).
- A **dedicated SMR and MMR workshop** opens the conference on October 25, addressing development status, commercialization hurdles, and international cooperation.
- Keynote speakers include ANS Executive Director **Craig Piercy** on U.S. regulatory changes, Dosomiirai Technology Chairman **Masumi Ishikawa** on Fukushima decommissioning, and POSTECH Professor **Hee-Seok Lee** on accelerator shielding in Korea.
- Shielding validation quality is a direct cost driver for FOAK SMR projects — underinvestment in this area translates to regulatory conservatism and construction cost overruns.
- Korea's hosting of ICRS15 reflects a deliberate strategy to build technical influence in global advanced reactor standardization.

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## Frequently Asked Questions

**What is ICRS15 and when does it take place?**
ICRS15 is the 15th International Conference on Radiation Shielding, held October 25–29, 2026, at Lotte Hotel Jeju, South Korea. It is organized by the Korean Association for Radiation Protection and co-hosted with the 23rd ANS Radiation Protection and Shielding Division conference (RPSD 2026).

**Why does radiation shielding matter specifically for SMR design?**
Shielding directly affects capital cost, site footprint, and regulatory margins. Compact SMR geometries and advanced reactor neutron spectra — particularly in fast-spectrum and high-temperature designs — require shielding approaches that go beyond methods validated for conventional large light-water reactors. Poor shielding analysis is a documented contributor to FOAK cost overruns.

**What SMR topics will be covered at ICRS15?**
A dedicated workshop on October 25 will address development and commercialization status of next-generation SMRs and micro modular reactors (MMRs), including technology development challenges and international cooperation frameworks.

**Who are the keynote speakers at ICRS15?**
Three keynotes are confirmed: Masumi Ishikawa (Dosomiirai Technology, Japan) on Fukushima Daiichi decommissioning; Craig Piercy (American Nuclear Society Executive Director) on changes in the U.S. nuclear regulatory framework; and Professor Hee-Seok Lee (POSTECH) on accelerator radiation shielding in Korea.

**Is this the first time ICRS has been held in Korea?**
Yes. According to the Korean Association for Radiation Protection, this is the first time in 68 years — since ICRS began in Cambridge, UK in 1958 — that the conference is being held in Korea.