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International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Says Nuclear Community Successfully Meets Proliferation, Legal and Pollution Challenges

1995/07

IAEA Director Hans Blix today welcomed the success of efforts to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons and noted that, contrary to predictions, the global expansion of nuclear power has been accompanied by expanded commitments to non- proliferation.

Speaking at the General Meeting of the World Association of Nuclear Operators in Paris, Dr. Blix said "those who claimed that nuclear power and nuclear weapons were like Siamese twins, and that development of nuclear power must (hence) be stopped...have been proved wrong". It was not regarded unrealistic today, he added, to aim at nearly full nuclear disarmament by the declared nuclear weapon states and universal adherence to non- proliferation commitments by all others.

Turning to the importance of the necessary legal infrastructure for use of nuclear energy, the Director General observed that it was natural that societies require a strong framework to limit the degree of risk, and govern liability in case of damage to individuals or the environment. In the nuclear field, this encompassed extensive rules regarding the transport of nuclear materials, the prohibition of waste dumping at sea, strict conditions for any transboundary movement of waste, and broad adherence to the international Conventions (Paris and Vienna) on liability. Revision of the Vienna Convention, concluded under IAEA auspices in 1963, was currently underway. The aim is to draft modifications that will lead inter alia to general adherence by states to the Convention, raise the ceilings of compensation - for operators and for states - and provide international supplementary financing.

On the safety front, the Director General noted the fact that some 60 States had now signed the Convention on Nuclear Safety that was expected to enter into force within a year or so. Effective implementation would hinge to a large degree on the requirement for states parties to submit national reports on their nuclear power operations for "peer review". A similar Convention on the safety of radioactive waste management would follow: a first group of technical and legal experts open to all IAEA Member States was expected to initiate work in July. The intention of international experts appears so far to give the convention broad scope, covering not only standards for national management of nuclear waste but also transboundary movements and possible regional and international repositories.

Lastly, the Director General noted that CO2 emissions were continuing to rise and that "carbon dioxide emitted anywhere is CO2 emitted everywhere". Also, were the energy generated by the world's nuclear power plants replaced by burning coal, CO2 emissions would rise by 7 percent or 2000 million tonnes . Given the uncertainty of current climate models that could trigger huge investments that might prove unnecessary, he advocated a "no regret" policy - i.e. measures that help to reduce greenhouse gases and are at the same time meaningful and economic even without that additional benefit: expanded use of nuclear power would be one such "no regret" response to global warming.

Last update: 16 Feb 2018

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