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 Report has been prepared, according to the guidelines established by the Contracting Parties under Article 29.2(iii), to fulfil the obligations of the Article 32 of the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, signed by Poland on 30 September 1997 in Vienna, and ratified by the President of the Republic of Poland on 9 March 2000. The corresponding instruments of ratification were deposited with the IAEA on 5 May 2000. The Convention entered into force on 18 June 2001.

Ireland became a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency in 1970. In March, 2000, Ireland was the 25th State to ratify the IAEA Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, thus bringing the Convention into force.

The first worldwide review of geological problems in radioactive waste isolation was published by the Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) in 1991 (Witherspoon, 1991). This review was a compilation of reports that had been submitted to a workshop held in conjunction with the 28th International Geological Congress that took place July 9Ð19, 1989, in Washington, D.C.

History shows that the search for sites for radioactive waste management facilities has been marred by conflicts and delays. Affected communities have often objected that their concerns and interests were not addressed. In response, institutions have progressively turned away from the traditional “decide, announce and defend” model, and are learning to “engage, interact and co-operate”. This shift has fostered the emergence of partnerships between the proponent of the facility and the potential host community, as shown in a recent NEA study.

There are no nuclear power stations and no nuclear fuel cycle activities in Ireland. There are 2.5 tonnes of natural uranium in storage on the campus of a university, which was previously incorporated in a sub-critical assembly. This material is stored in the building in which it was previously used. Other than in relation to these uranium sources, the application of the Convention is limited to radioactive waste arising from the medical, industrial and research applications of radioisotopes.

This Report gives an outline of Ireland’s national policy, State institutional framework and general legislation governing all aspects of the implementation of the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management in Ireland. It also sets out measures adopted to implement the relevant obligations of the Convention noting that Ireland does not have any spent nuclear fuel to deal with.

The first world wide review of the geological problems in radioactive waste isolation was published by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in 1991. This review was a compilation of reports that had been submitted to a workshop held in conjunction with the 28th International Geological Congress that took place July 9-19,1989 in Washington, D.C.