News

At the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that opened on 19 September in Vienna, the Lithuanian delegation will actively raise questions regarding safety of nuclear power plants, also issues of fulfilment of international obligations and compliance with conventions. Representatives of Lithuania will give particular attention to the issue of non-compliance with the highest international standards of nuclear safety of the nuclear power projects in Belarus and the Kaliningrad region.

Lithuania aims to strengthen regulations with regard to international nuclear safety, including, but not limited to the neighbouring nuclear power projects. The tightening of regulations would be beneficial to the entire international community, because the highest international standards of nuclear safety should be applied universally without exceptions.

Accident at the Japanese Fukushima nuclear power plant has provoked discussions around the world on actions that should be taken in the future in order to avoid such disasters like in Chernobyl or Fukushima, and had highlighted the need to review the existing standards and the international legal environment.

At the high level IAEA conference in Vienna in June 2011, the organization’s Director General Yukiya Amano was commissioned to prepare an IAEA action plan to strengthen nuclear safety standards, covering all aspects of nuclear safety, including preparedness and response to emergencies, public health and environmental radiation protection, a review of international conventions and strengthening of the central role of the IAEA in the enhancement of nuclear safety worldwide. The IAEA General Conference is to endorse this action plan.

Lithuania has actively contributed to the drafting of the IAEA Action Plan on Nuclear Safety, aiming not only at having the standards of international nuclear safety tightened and implemented, but also to make them legally binding. No nuclear power plant should start operating without a thorough assessment of a construction site and, especially, without a seismic survey of the site. This issue is important to all countries, because nuclear accidents recognize no state borders. Therefore, all countries have not only to ensure the safety of their residents, but also to not to neglect the safety of population in neighbouring countries.

Specialized IAEA missions could become compulsory and could help to evaluate the suitability of nuclear construction sites, the existing legal basis and nuclear plant safety. Public should be informed about the outcomes and results of these missions, and subsequent missions should assess the implementation of recommendations of the previous missions. This would ensure the transparency and would increase public confidence in nuclear energy.

Since nuclear disasters have cross-border effects, countries implementing nuclear programmes are urged to fulfil the highest international standards of nuclear safety and to carry out thorough assessment of risk and safety of their nuclear power plants. Countries planning to have a nuclear programme have to develop an appropriate nuclear safety infrastructure, based on IAEA standards.

It is proposed to constantly review the IAEA international standards, tighten and implement them. IAEA expert missions, evaluating the national legislation, emergency preparedness and nuclear activities, should be periodic.