REFLECTIONS ON THE INFLUENCE OF THE LOCAL ACTORS ON THE NATIONAL NUCLEAR WASTE MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK

The responsibility for the governance of Australia is shared by Australia's federal government (also known as the Commonwealth 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 a Commonwealth agency or a contractor to a Commonwealth agency; in those cases the activity is regulated by the Federal government (Commonwealth government of Australia).

The United States of America ratified the “Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management” (Joint Convention) on April 9, 2003. The Joint Convention establishes an international peer review process among Contracting Parties and provides incentives for nations to take appropriate steps to bring their nuclear activities into compliance with general safety standards and practices. This first Review Meeting of the Contracting Parties under the Joint Convention is scheduled to take place in November 2003 in Vienna, Austria.

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_.