The Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management
The Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management (the Joint Convention) is the only legally binding international treaty in the area of radioactive waste management. It was adopted by a Diplomatic Conference in September 1997 and opened for signature on 29 September 1997. The Convention entered into force on 18 June 1998, and to date (September 04) has been signed by 42 States, of which 34 have formally ratified, thus becoming Contracting Parties. The Joint Convention applies to spent fuel and radioactive waste resulting from civilian application. Its principal aim is to achieve and maintain a high degree of safety in their management worldwide. The Convention is an incentive instrument, not designed to ensure fulfillment of obligations through control and sanction, but by a peer pressure. The obligations of the Contracting Parties are mainly based on the international safety standards developed by the IAEA in past decades. The Convention is intended for all countries generating radioactive waste. Therefore it is relevant not only for those using nuclear power, but for any country where application of nuclear energy in medicine, conventional industry and research is currently used. Obligations of Contracting Parties include attending periodic Review Meetings and prepare National Reports for review by the other Contracting Parties. The National Reports should describe how the country is complying with the requirements of the Articles of the Convention. The first such meeting was held at the IAEA headquarters in November 2003. This paper will describe the origin of the Convention, present its content, the expected outcome for the worldwide safety, and the benefits for a country to be part of it.
- Research Organization:
- International Atomic Energy Agency (XA)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- none (US)
- OSTI ID:
- 841407
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Americas Nuclear Energy Symposium (ANES 2004), Miami, FL (US), 10/03/2004--10/06/2004; Other Information: PBD: 6 Oct 2004
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
POLICY AND ECONOMY
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE WASTES, AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
IAEA
MANAGEMENT
MEDICINE
NUCLEAR ENERGY
NUCLEAR POWER
ORIGIN
RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
SAFETY
SAFETY STANDARDS
SPENT FUELS