Since the Board met in June, two diplomatic conferences - on spent fuel and radioactive waste management and on liability for nuclear damage - have taken place and adopted important legal instruments. The UN Special Session on sustainable development Rio + 5 - was held in New York in late June. I addressed the meeting on energy issues, and on the Agency's activities as task manager under Agenda 21 on radioactive waste management...
You will further recall that in June the Agency sponsored a major symposium on nuclear fuel cycle options in Vienna. A novel feature was the preparation of six "key-issues" papers summarizing developments in recent years in the areas of the nuclear fuel cycle and plutonium use. These papers are now being published and should become central documents in these fields for some time. Some of the ideas that emerged from the symposium, particularly the proposed creation of an International Working Group on Fuel Cycle Options, are now being acted upon.
Another meeting engaging a number of Member States was the Symposium held two weeks ago in Poland on Radiation Technology in Conservation of the Environment. Among other things the Symposium reviewed progress in the use of radiation technology for cleaning flue gases - with particular reference to the Agency's projects in Poland, Bulgaria, China and Ukraine. It also focused on the application of radiation technology to waste water and examined a project in Argentina where a large plant for converting sewage into organic fertilizer is soon to be completed with IAEA support.
Some other recent activities deserve mention. In the safety area, the results of the study of the radiological situation at Semipalatinsk nuclear test site have been discussed with the authorities of Kazakhstan and are now to be published; the study of the Bikini Atoll is also close to finalization; and the Mururoa Atoll study is on target...
We were also recently called upon by the government of Costa Rica to identify the causes and assess the consequences of events which resulted in over exposures of more than 100 patients during medical radiological treatment. A mission of international experts was arranged in July. Its findings and recommendations will shortly be conveyed to the Government of Costa Rica.
In the verification area, Secretariat work has concentrated on the modalities for implementing the strengthened safeguards system. I shall soon comment on this. Let me also report that discussions have continued between Russia, the United States and the Agency on arrangements for IAEA verification of fissile materials removed from the military sector. A further round of discussions under this "Trilateral Initiative" is to be held this week. With respect to our activities in Iraq, there is a report prepared for the General Conference summarizing the current situation. As in previous years, I shall report to the Security Council in early October on this and other matters relating to IAEA verification.
Safeguards
The measures adopted to strengthen the effectiveness and improve the efficiency of the safeguards system are universally recognized as a major achievement...
States naturally take a close interest in the manner in which the new measures are to be implemented. I trust that the detailed consideration given to these issues in the Board over the last five years and the extensive trials that have been conducted in a number of States will ensure that the new measures are cost effective and without undue additional burden on national operators or regulators. However, as has been apparent all along, close co-operation will be needed with our counterparts. A number of Member States have asked to enter into consultations with the Secretariat in anticipation of accepting the Protocol - and discussions are already underway with some.
Let me note that some tangible progress and benefits already result from new measures: the acceptance by 29 countries of simplified procedures for the designation of inspectors has reduced the average time for States to accept designations from 10 months in 1993 to 4 months today. Similarly, the number of States which provide multi-entry visas for inspectors has risen from 9 in 1993 to some 30 today - and I have been encouraged to learn that other States will soon follow. The scheme for reporting imports, exports and inventories of nuclear material has now been accepted by 52 States including the main nuclear suppliers. And baseline environmental sampling is underway in most of the facilities which are the focus of initial emphasis - enrichment plants and certain hot cells.
Concerning acceptance of the Additional Protocol, I am pleased that already this week the Board is being asked to authorize me to sign instruments with Armenia, Australia, Georgia, Poland and Uruguay. I welcome the promptness with which the governments of these countries have acted. I also welcome the undertakings received from other States to complete in the near future the necessary internal steps for acceptance. The sooner States accept the Protocol, the sooner the benefits in terms of both a strengthened and more efficient system will be realized. I urge governments to maintain the momentum which they have built up in the past year.
Also before the Board is a safeguards agreement pursuant to Georgia's adherence to the Non Proliferation Treaty. I welcome this agreement as a further step towards the entry into force of comprehensive safeguards agreements for countries of the former Soviet Union.
DPRK
In reporting to the Board in June on the implementation of safeguards in the DPRK, I noted that a number of technical issues remained unresolved. This situation, as summarized in the document for the General Conference GC(41)/17, remains unchanged. Informal discussions were held last week in Pyongyang between Agency and DPRK safeguards officials. It was agreed that an 8th round of technical discussions will be held in Vienna in the week beginning 20 October.
In the meantime the canning operations of the irradiated fuel from the 5 MW experimental power reactor at Nyongbyon are continuing. The canning of the rods from the spent fuel pond is complete and the work now centres on the spent fuel in dry storage. The complete operation is likely to be concluded by November this year.
Nuclear, Radiation and Waste Safety
The Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management
The Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management was adopted on 5 September 1997 by the Diplomatic Conference which the June Board decided to convoke. This marks the successful and welcome conclusion of a process which started three years ago. I take this opportunity to register our warm thanks to Professor Alec Baer for the exceptional skill and tireless efforts he displayed both during the preparatory stages and as President of the Conference. The Convention recognizes that, while radioactive waste should as far as is compatible with the safety of the management of such material be disposed of in the State in which it is generated, in certain circumstances the safe and efficient management of spent fuel and radioactive waste might be fostered through agreements among Contracting Parties to use facilities in one of them for the benefit of the other Parties. I conclude that the Convention does not rule out regional or other international repositories which may help to strengthen safety or efficiency or both. Although no such repositories appear in sight, it has always seemed rational to me and advantageous from economic and environmental viewpoints to have fewer large repositories rather than many small ones.
The Convention is to be open for signature from 29 September 1997 - the opening day of the General Conference. I am convinced that it will contribute to the global nuclear safety culture and help convey the message to the public that governments are agreed on the methods to safely manage spent fuel and nuclear waste. I appeal for early signature and ratification of the Convention and look forward to its entry into force. Any government wishing to sign should kindly inform the Director of the Legal Division.
Liability
It also gives me great satisfaction to report the successful outcome of the Diplomatic Conference on nuclear liability. The adoption of the Protocol to Amend the Vienna Convention and the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage culminates years of intensive and complex negotiations.
The new instruments add substantially to the means of redress for nuclear damage. There is now a comprehensive system of compensation in place which is open to all States. The responsibility placed by the new instruments on operators and governments substantially enhances the requirements of the Vienna and Paris Conventions. The modernized definition of nuclear damage now covers inter alia impairment of the environment and preventive measures; there is a significant increase in the compensation amounts - the liability limit is raised to not less than 300 million SDRs. States in difficult economic situations may join with interim, lower national amounts. A supplementary funding mechanism provides for substantial additional compensation to be contributed jointly by governments. This is an encouraging demonstration of solidarity by the international community in dealing with nuclear accidents.
The Protocol and the Convention will be open for signature during the General Conference next week. The overwhelming support shown for them gives us hope that they will be widely adhered to. I appeal through you to your governments to take the necessary steps for adherence.