IAEA chief calls for global review of nuclear safety measures
Baku, June 22 (AZERTAC). The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency on Monday urged a worldwide review of safety measures to prevent new nuclear disasters, but acknowledged that since his organization lacks the authority to enforce rules any improvements are only effective if countries apply them.
While some countries at the 151-member IAEA`s meeting want any new safety regime to be mandatory, most prefer them to be voluntary and don`t want a regulatory role for IAEA. If the IAEA cannot enforce safety standards, those rules will be only as good as they are being enforced by IAEA countries.
"Even the best safety standards are useless unless they are actually implemented," Yukiya Amano said.
Asked outside the meeting if he would like to see the IAEA have the same authority against safety violators as it now has against nuclear proliferators — which includes referral to the United Nations Security Council — he said: "I do not exclude that possibility."
But he said a sense of post-Fukushima urgency dictated action now under existing rules.
"We have to move by days, weeks, months, and I cannot wait years" — the time it would take to revise the IAEA`s mandate for the 35-nation board — he said. "We need to have a sense of urgency."
Outlining a five-point plan to strengthen nuclear reactor safety, Amano called for strengthening IAEA standards and ensuring they are applied; establishing regular safety reviews of all the world`s reactors; beefing up the effectiveness of national regulatory bodies; strengthening global emergency response systems, and increasing IAEA input in responding to emergencies.
A draft of the conference`s ministerial statement made available to The Associated Press showed that the gathering was content to work on upgrading present safety practices and emergency measures without giving the IAEA an enforcing role.
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