Joint Convention Questions Posted to Argentina in 2009
Joint Convention Questions Posted to Argentina in 2009
Joint Convention Questions Posted to Argentina in 2009
Joint Convention Questions Posted to Argentina in 2009
Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, Canada's Responses to Questions, April 2009
This is the Finnish National Report, in accordance with the provisions of the Article 32 of the Joint Convention, to the 4th Review Meeting of the Contracting Parties in May 2012. The aim of this report is to present the recent developments of waste management in Finland, to describe waste management facilities and practices in Finland and, for discussion and review among contracting parties, to describe how the obligations under the Convention are fulfilled in Finland.
Denmark signed the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management 29 September 1997, the day it opened for signa- ture. The Convention was accepted 3. September 1999 by letter from the Foreign Ministry to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Until further notice the Convention does not apply for the autonomous territories Greenland and the Faroe Islands.
The Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management was adopted on 29 September 1997 in the Vienna Diplomatic Conference. Finland signed the Convention on 2 October 1997 and deposited the tools of acceptance on 10 February 2000. The Convention entered into force on 18 June 2001. The fulfillment of the obligations of the Convention and the developments after the second Review Meeting are assessed in this report.
On 25 March 1999 the government of the Czech Republic approved the Joint Convention which came into effect in the Czech Republic on 18 June 2001. In agreement with the obligations resulting from its accession to the Joint Convention the Czech Republic has drawn already the fourth National Report for the purposes of review meetings of the contracting parties, which describes the system of spent fuel and radioactive waste management in the scope required by selected articles of the Joint Convention.
Luxembourg has signed the Joint Convention on 1st October 1997 and is a Party thereof since 19 November 2001. The Convention entered into force on 21 June 2001. Luxembourg has no nuclear power plant, no other fuel-cycle facility, no research reactor and no other facility generating radioactive substances. Thus many requirements of the Joint Convention do not apply to Luxembourg. It further has no spent nuclear fuel and no high level radioactive waste on its territory.
This is the fourth National Report by Australia.1 The 2008 National Report and Australia’s presentation to the Third Review Meeting in 2009 highlighted the following major issues:
• progress on national uniformity;
• progress with development of a national waste classification scheme;
• radioactive waste management policy – achievements, consultation, strategy;
• spent fuel management and management of reprocessing waste;
• decommissioning;
• uranium mining waste management; and
• recruitment and skills management.
The Korean government has maintained a consistent national policy for stable energy supply by fostering nuclear power industries under the circumstances that energy resources are scare in the country. Korea has one of the most dynamic nuclear power programs in the world. For a couple of decades, Korea has deployed very dynamic nuclear power program. The first nuclear power plant (NPP), Kori #1, started its commercial operation in April 1978. As of September 2002, there are 17 units of nuclear power plants in operation and 3 units under construction_.
There are no nuclear power stations and no nuclear fuel cycle activities in Uruguay. There are only disused radioactive sources from medical and industrial practices and there is a disused conditioned neutron Pu-239 source with 185 TBq, waiting for its reshipment to the United States. This material is stored in the building in which it was an old research reactor. The application of the Convention is limited to radioactive waste arising from the medical, industrial and research applications of radioisotopes.
The European Atomic Energy Community (“Euratom”) is a regional organisation, as referred to in Article 39(4) of the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management. It became a party to the Convention on 2 January 2006. This report is submitted in compliance with Articles 30 and 32 of the Convention for the Second Review Meeting of the Contracting Parties, to be held in Vienna from 15 to 26 May 2006.
Spent fuel and radioactive waste management constitutes the final stage in power production at nuclear power plants and utilisation of ionising radiation sources in medicine, agriculture, industry and science. The importance of this stage for environmental protection, public health and safety can be hardly overestimated. The future of nuclear energy in Ukraine and worldwide depends upon effective state policy and successful practices in the safe management of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste.
Spent fuel in Sweden emanates mainly from four commercial nuclear power plants. In addition there is one material testing reactor and one research reactor. The radioactive waste originates from the nuclear power industry as well as medical use, industry, research and consumer products.
Radioactive waste management constitutes the final step in the using of radioactive material as fuel for reactor research or as radioisotopes in research, medicine or industry. In compliance with the principal of protecting the public, the environment and to not impose undue burdens on future generation Morocco signed the joint convention in September 1997 and ratified it in May 1999 Morocco has a research nuclear centre (CENM) where we have our facilities to treat radioactive waste generated at national level.
Iceland deposited an instrument of accession to the Joint Convention on 27 January 2006. There were no declarations or reservations attached to the instrument of accession. The Convention entered into force for Iceland on 27 April 2006. Iceland is a country that has no nuclear industry, no research reactor or other facility generating radioactive substances. Therefore many of the requirements of the Joint Convention do not apply to Iceland. There is no nuclear fuel or high level waste on Icelandic territory.
Greece has signed the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management on 5 September 1997. The Convention entered into force on 16 March 2000. The present report is the National Report of Greece for the Second Review Meeting to the Convention, which will take place 15-26 May 2006 at the IAEA in Vienna. The report has been prepared in accordance with the Guidelines regarding the Form and Structure of National Reports (IINFCIRC/604, 1 July 2002), established by the Contracting Parties under Article 29 of the Convention.
This is the third National Report by Australia1. The 2005 National Report and Australia’s presentation to the Second Review Meeting in 2006 highlighted issues as to how each of the nine Australian jurisdictions within Australia’s federal system are complying with the Joint Convention. A challenge identified for Australia in the Rapporteur’s Report for Country Group 3 was “ensuring a coherent approach to regulations and waste management practice in view of the complex nature of national and regional legislation”.
This report demonstrates how Canada continues to meet its obligations under the terms of the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management. A collaboration by government, industry and the regulatory body, this document focuses specifically on the progress of long-term management initiatives for spent fuel and radioactive waste in Canada, revisions and updates to Canada’s Second National Report and comments and issues raised at the Second Review Meeting.
Solving the United States' high level nuclear waste<br/>disposal dilemma is vital to our energy independence and<br/>economic growth. The issue has been stalled for decades and<br/>presently faces enormous political obstacles despite renewed<br/>government effort to achieve a solution.
The Russian Federation submits this report for review at the second meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management (the Convention).<br/>The purpose of the National Report is to inform on the compliance with the obligations undertaken by the Russian Federation in accordance with the Convention. The scope of application of the National Report is given in Section C.
The Federal Government will continue to meet Germany’s existing international obligations, par- ticularly with regard to fulfilment of the Joint Convention. In submitting this report, the Federal Re- public of Germany is demonstrating its compliance with the Joint Convention and ensuring the safe operation of facilities for the management of spent fuel and radioactive waste, including the de- commissioning of nuclear installations. At the same time, there is still a need for future action in order to maintain the required high standards of safety and ensure disposal.
The responsibility for the governance of Australia is shared by the Australian government and the governments of the six states and two self governing territories. Responsibility for radiation health and safety in each State and Territory rests with the respective State/Territory government, unless the activity is carried out by an Australian government agency or a contractor to a Australian government agency; in those cases the activity is regulated by the Australian government.
Kingdom of Belgium, Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, Second Review Meeting (May 2006), Answers to the Questions of Contracting Parties on the National Report submitted by Belgium
Radioactive waste is produced from a wide range of human activities. The wastes arising from the nuclear fuel cycle occur as a wide range of materials and in many different physical and chemical forms, contaminated with varying activities of radionuclides. Their common feature is the potential hazard associated with their radioactivity and the need to manage them in such a way as to protect the human environment. The safe disposal of radioactive waste is a key reequirement of the nuclear industry worldwide.