A3-0220/93

Resolution on the environmental and public health aspects of the storage, transport and reprocessing of spent nuclear fuels

The European Parliament

-having regard to its resolution of 25 October 1990 on the transport of nuclear waste by ferry and the storage and processing of nuclear waste,

-having regard to petition no 371/89 submitted by Greenpeace Germany (based in Hamburg) and petition no 61/90 submitted by the Bundesverband Bürgerinitiativen, which, supported by some 250,000 signatures, requested a European parliamentary inquiry into nuclear fuel reprocessing, and the Commission's responses to the petitions in July and December 1990 respectively,

-having regard to the motion for a resolution tabled by Mr Collins and others on the environmental and public health aspects of the storage, transport and reprocessing of spent nuclear fuels (B3-0035/91),

-having regard to its opinions of 9 March 1988 on the specific research programmes to be implemented by the Joint Research Centre, 23 May 1989 on a multiannual research and training programme in the field of radiation protection, 11 October 1990 on the operational protection of outside workers exposed to ionizing radiation, and 12 July 1991 on a specific research and technological development programme in the sphere of nuclear fission safety, and its resolutions of 13 February 1992 on Dounreay and 17 September 1992 on the safety of nuclear installations in the Member States of the Community,

-having regard to the Commission's progress report to the Council on the implementation of the Council resolution of 22 July 1975 on technical problems of nuclear safety (SEC(92)0079),

-having regard to the Council directive on informing the general public about health protection measures to be applied and steps to be taken in the event of a radiological emergency (including transport of nuclear materials), (89/618/Euratom) and the Commission's subsequent communication on its implementation,

-having regard to the motions for resolutions on Dounreay by Mrs Ewing and Mr Vandemeulebroucke (B3-0091/92), Mr De Rossa and others (B3-0094/92) and Mr Linkohr and others (B3-0095/92),

-having regard to the report of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection and the opinions of the Committee on Energy, Research and Technology and the Committee on Transport and Tourism (A3-0220/93),

A.whereas the world's only large-scale government subsidised commercial reprocessing facilities for spent nuclear fuel are located in the European Community: two in the UK at Sellafield and Dounreay and one in France at Cap le Hague,

B.whereas about one third of the spent nuclear fuel to be reprocessed at these facilities over the coming decade will come from other European countries than the UK and France,

C.whereas this necessarily would involve the transportation by sea and land of quantities of all types of radioactive materials following methods established under IAEA regulations;

D.whereas the monitoring of large reprocessing plants by Euratom Safeguards to verify that no diversion of weapons-grade nuclear material takes place poses serious resource problems, both in terms of staff and budgets, for Euratom Safeguards;

E.whereas most environmental contamination by radioactive substances, and most worker exposure to radiation risks, occurs because of and in large-scale spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plants, rather than in the routine operation of nuclear reactors,

F.whereas the US nuclear industry shows at present no interest in operating any commercial spent nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities because they are extremely uneconomical and pose significant proliferation problems,

RECOMMENDATIONS

With respect to harmonisation:

1.Recommends that in regard to Community legislation on the prior notification, supervision and control of radioactive wastes (Directive 92/3/Euratom) the definition of nuclear wastes not be extended to include spent irradiated nuclear fuel, unless intended for direct disposal;

2.Recommends that, just as the Community has formally recognised in its agreement under an amendment to the Lomé Convention with ACP states not to export toxic or radioactive waste to these nations, Community policy should also ensure that no radioactive waste, or spent irradiated nuclear fuel that will give rise to radioactive waste, should be transported in the net export from one Member State to another of an additional radioactive burden, in perpetuity;

3.Calls on the Commission to come forward with proposals in order to include a safeguards-type clause in all the EC agreements with nuclear countries outside the Community, with the Central and East European countries and the far and Middle East;

With respect to safety:

4.Requires the Commission's DG XI and EURATOM to undertake as a matter of priority full cradle-to-grave environmental audits of alternative nuclear fuel cycle options and present these at the earliest opportunity, but certainly before May 1994, to Parliament and the Council;

5.Recommends that with regard to the transport of plutonium, until such commerce is halted altogether:

(i)the Community introduce legislation to harmonize national regulations for the safe carriage of radioactive materials, and plutonium in particular, in such a way as to guarantee that all packages retain their integrity in both normal and severe accident conditions, including combinations of severe impacts and all-engulfing fires, such as plane-crash conditions;

(ii)the Commission and Council prevail upon the IAEA (as the present, if imperfect, international standard setter) to reconsider the currently proposed impact test velocity which has a clear and understandable basis, supported by full documentary information justifying the choice;

(iii)EURATOM consult with the IAEA in establishing the criteria set out in US-NUREG 0360 for impact test velocities in the preparation of new global standards;

(iv)no sea transport of plutonium take place unless in vessels purpose-built for the transport of radioactive materials; and that the rigorous physical protection measures proposed by the US Department of Defense be considered as Community policy;

(v)the Council endorse the powers of EURATOM under Chapter III of the treaty to require military plutonium, if transported, to be subject to the same safety standards as apply to safeguarded civil plutonium;

6.Recommends that, with regard to any continued interim sea transport of irradiated nuclear fuel and high-level waste:

(i)the transport of these dangerous nuclear materials be prohibited forthwith on roll-on roll-off ferries or other ro-ro vessels operating within Community boundaries;

(ii)the Commission take all necessary steps to ensure that fully adequate emergency plans are adopted across the Community to handle any accident involving spent nuclear fuel or high level radioactive waste being moved through ports in the Community; and that full consultation takes place with the appropriate trades union federation, existing emergency services and local authorities;

(iii)these bodies and authorities be similarly consulted in establishing Community-wide emergency plans along entire transport routes on land;

7.Calls on the Commission to bring forward, and present to the Council where so required, proposals for new legislation to ensure that the agreements made at the 1992 Review Conference on the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials are implemented across the Community;

With respect to plutonium use and reprocessing:

8.Recommends that the Commission establish an ad-hoc working group with the IAEA, reporting to the Council and Parliament, to assess the changed demand for plutonium as a recycled nuclear fuel since the expansion of reprocessing facilities was undertaken under different energy demand circumstances in the early 1970s; and that independent experts and organisations be invited to present evidence before this ad-hoc group;

9.Considers that EURATOM's safeguards agency should develop closer working agreement with the IAEA's safeguards division to enhance the application of safeguards on plutonium and reprocessing facilities;

10.Calls on the Commission to re-evaluate the proliferation problems posed in a changing world by the use of plutonium in international commerce and the continued operation of reprocessing plants to separate plutonium, and to present a report to Parliament on this in addition to the Commission's annual EURATOM report on the operation of safeguards;

11.Requests that a study be undertaken by the appropriate Commission directorate of the options available for the redeployment of skilled reprocessing workers in (a) other sectors of the nuclear industry, and (b) other energy or high technology project work, in the event of reprocessing being halted;

With respect to accident liability:

12.Considers that the Commission should recognise that:

(i)the world's marine insurance companies are only liable for non-nuclear risks,

(ii)the world's marine insurance companies refuse to insure against the cost of nuclear accident because of their calculation of the huge compensation claims they would have to meet, and

(iii)that private household insurance policies routinely exclude coverage for damage arising from the transport of radioactive materials, including nuclear wastes or spent fuel, for the same reasons as the marine insurers;

and that therefore the Commission should take an active role throughout review and revision of the 1960 Paris Convention (and Supplementary Brussels Convention in 1963) and the 1963 Vienna Convention on liability and compensation for transboundary damage done by nuclear accidents, to ensure adequate liability is instituted for transportation accidents and accidents at radioactive waste treatment, handling or disposal facilities;

13.Calls on the Commission to consult with the OECD's Nuclear Energy Agency, Member State governments and recognized non-governmental organizations to develop an international convention that endorses the principle of harmonized liability for damage to people, property and the environment caused by nuclear accidents; requires that a report be made to Parliament on the outcome of such consultations at an early date, and certainly no later than December 1993.

With respect to radioactive waste:

14.Calls on the Commission to develop proposals for the minimisation of the production of radioactive wastes, primarily from nuclear power plant operation and reprocessing and calls on the Commission to continue research into the reduction of long-lived radioactive isotopes through transmutation;

15.Calls on the Commission to bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that no single Member State without the technical skills and expertise bears a disproportionate burden of radioactive waste arising from nuclear activities undertaken within the Community, and that no single local community within any Member State is required to accept for long-term storage or disposal radioactive waste arising from other Member States of the Community or from outside the Community; also calls on the Commission, in connection with the construction and operation of terminal repositories for high-level radioactive waste, to analyze the feasibility of long-term storage in each Member State, including an appraisal of the medium and long-term radiological impact on man and the environment;

16.Calls on the Commission to conduct negotiations with all nations who own nuclear power stations or nuclear weapons, with a view to their joining the Vienna, Paris and Brussels convention on the liability of operators, and where applicable governments, to provide adequate compensation to all victims in case of a nuclear accident;

17.Expects the Commission to establish a complete database of all categories of radioactive waste by location in the Community and expects this database to be made publicly available to all citizens within the Community and interested parties outside;

18.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, Council and the governments of the Member States.