ST. PETERSBURG, August 26 (RIA Novosti, Olga Vtorova) - The 8th international conference devoted to the safety of nuclear technologies is about to open in this city Friday.

The organizers of the event said the conference would bring together officials from the Federal Agency for Nuclear Power, the state-run Rosenergoatom, which oversees the operation and construction of nuclear and thermal power plants, and about 300 representatives of Russian and foreign nuclear-sector businesses.

The six-day conference will focus on the safe use and production of nuclear power sources in various areas of industry, medicine, agriculture and science.

The organizers said this would be a major annual event in Russia's nuclear industry where specialists united by the idea of peaceful nuclear research would share their experience in establishing and using nuclear facilities and scrapping those whose service life ran out.

"This meeting is another step towards higher safety of nuclear technologies," said the organizers.

The conference will be held on the sidelines of the 9th international forum, The Russian Industrialist. The forum will also feature the 5th international specialized exhibition, Nuclear Industry.