FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
G8 Nuclear Safety and Security Group Summit Report
May 19, 2012
1. The Nuclear Safety and Security Group (NSSG), established at Kananaskis Summit and responsible to Leaders, provides technically informed strategic policy advice on issues that could impact safety and security in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Following the Deauville Summit, we remain committed to the objective of achieving the highest levels of safety and a culture of continuous improvement to nuclear safety and security.
2. We welcome continued cooperation, under the auspices of the IAEA with other relevant international organizations in this area, and will promote strong and competent national nuclear safety and security frameworks and cultures, by addressing both existing and emerging challenges and establishing partnership relations in these issues.
Nuclear Safety in the Aftermath of the Fukushima Accident
3. The Great East Japan Earthquake and subsequent tsunami that severely affected the TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station reminded the G8, and the world, of the importance of ensuring robust nuclear safety mechanisms in order to protect life, health and the environment and to prevent related adverse economic effects.
4. The NSSG welcomes the risk and safety assessments of nuclear installations conducted in G8 and other countries in response to the accident at the TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station (Fukushima accident). This strong response to the Fukushima accident has already resulted in measures to improve nuclear safety.
G8 Support for the IAEA Action Plan and the Enhancement of Safety and Security Framework
5. The NSSG welcomes and endorses the IAEA’s Action Plan on Nuclear Safety (Action Plan), as it provides the most comprehensive roadmap for coordinating international efforts to strengthen and enhance existing nuclear safety programs in all countries in light of the Fukushima accident. The NSSG underlines that its implementation requires the concrete and determined commitment of states alongside the Secretariat of the Agency. The NSSG also recognizes the importance of the success of the Fukushima Ministerial
Conference on Nuclear Safety to be held in December 2012.
6. The NSSG is committed to working alongside the IAEA to fully implement the Action Plan in order to improve nuclear safety worldwide, and has decided to pursue a wide range of activities to further this objective.
7. The NSSG recognizes the role the regulator plays in providing an expectation that individuals and organizations performing regulated activities establish and maintain safety and security cultures commensurate with the significance of their activities and the nature and complexity of their organizations and functions. The NSSG further recognizes the role industry and operators play in creating a work environment at nuclear facilities and activities where nuclear safety is paramount and where plant employees are encouraged to place safety as their highest obligation. In an effort to demonstrate support for industry actions to improve nuclear safety, the NSSG acknowledges national initiatives for fostering and sustaining a safety culture, recognizing that these initiatives can provide the basis for a replicable, holistic approach to strengthening the safety culture at nuclear facilities worldwide. The NSSG acknowledges the valuable contribution of the IAEA peer review services to improve the safety culture.
8. The NSSG welcomes the actions that are being taken to enhance the international emergency preparedness and response system under the Action Plan. The NSSG recognizes, especially in view of the lessons learned from the Fukushima accident, that the strengthened, effective, and sustainable national and international emergency preparedness and response programs are critical to ensuring protection of life, health, the environment, and the economy. The NSSG urges countries not only to review their existing emergency preparedness and response programs and to make necessary improvements, but also to support the strengthening of regional and international emergency preparedness systems. The NSSG is fully committed to ensuring a comprehensive worldwide emergency preparedness and response system and encourages all countries to support the implementation of strategies arising from the IAEA International Action Plan for Strengthening the International Preparedness and Response System for Nuclear and Radiological Emergencies. The NSSG also supports strengthening national, regional and international communications and assistance within a sustainable infrastructure.
9. The NSSG supports ongoing initiatives based on a coordinated approach to nuclear safety and security practices. The NSSG also encourages the full consideration of emergency preparedness and response when addressing nuclear safety and security in order to further maximize benefits of these programs while reducing duplication and redundancies.
10. The NSSG resolves to enhance and strengthen the effectiveness of the international legal framework by the most efficient and practicable means available, making full use of the upcoming review meeting of the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, as well as the extraordinary meeting of the Convention on Nuclear Safety. In addition, measures to strengthen the Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident and the Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency should also be considered. In so doing, the NSSG acknowledges the importance of working proactively to apply lessons learned from the Fukushima accident on current nuclear safety practices.
11. The NSSG recognizes the importance of a global nuclear liability regime based on the principles set forth in the relevant international instruments. The national laws of all countries should be consistent with those principles and should assure the availability of appropriate compensation for victims which would be provided in a single forum in a prompt, equitable, and non-discriminatory manner with minimal litigation. The NSSG commits to working toward establishing a global nuclear liability regime by promoting universal adherence to one or more relevant international instruments appropriate for each country.
Chernobyl Projects
12. The NSSG remains committed to the timely and cost-efficient completion of the ongoing projects at Chornobyl, which are managed on behalf of the donor community by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), to convert the destroyed reactor unit into a stable and environmentally safe state. The NSSG resolves to remain seized with this issue. Meanwhile the NSSG views it as critically important that the Government of Ukraine makes the required institutional and financial provisions to ensure the efficient and successful implementation of the projects.
Safety Upgrade of Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plants
13. The NSSG welcomes the safety upgrades of all Ukrainian nuclear power plants (NPPs). The ultimate objective is for Ukrainian NPPs to satisfy internationally recognized nuclear safety standards. The program is currently ongoing and is expected to be completed in 2017. Ukraine has submitted a request to Euratom and the EBRD for loans for the project; the due diligence review is ongoing. The program review of the safety and environmental impact has been completed.
