PARIS — Government ministers and officials from nearly 30 nuclear energy- producing countries called yesterday for safety tests on all nuclear reactors, after the disaster at Japan’s Fukushima plant sparked concern over standards.
A majority of delegates at talks hosted under France’s Group of 20 chairmanship supported stress tests that would determine how well nuclear plants could withstand disasters, such as the earthquake and tsunami that rocked Fukushima in March.
"The Fukushima accident shook us all and the need arose very quickly to draw lessons, to improve and lift our standards and co-operation on nuclear safety," Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, France’s environment minister said after chairing the talks.
Group of Eight leaders agreed at a summit in France last month that more stringent nuclear safety rules were needed. There are no mandatory, international nuclear safety regulations, only recommendations from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to national regulators.
The delegates also agreed on the need to reinforce the IAEA’s role in nuclear safety.
The meeting was co-hosted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ahead of an IAEA ministerial meeting on June 20-24.
Source: http://www.businessday.co.za
A majority of delegates at talks hosted under France’s Group of 20 chairmanship supported stress tests that would determine how well nuclear plants could withstand disasters, such as the earthquake and tsunami that rocked Fukushima in March.
"The Fukushima accident shook us all and the need arose very quickly to draw lessons, to improve and lift our standards and co-operation on nuclear safety," Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, France’s environment minister said after chairing the talks.
Group of Eight leaders agreed at a summit in France last month that more stringent nuclear safety rules were needed. There are no mandatory, international nuclear safety regulations, only recommendations from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to national regulators.
The delegates also agreed on the need to reinforce the IAEA’s role in nuclear safety.
The meeting was co-hosted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ahead of an IAEA ministerial meeting on June 20-24.
Source: http://www.businessday.co.za
No comments:
Post a Comment