Greater transparency for nuclear safety convention

All contracting parties to the international Convention on Nuclear Safety have now made their national reports on the implementation of their obligations publicly available, the first time this has happened since the convention was established in 1996.

All contracting parties to the international Convention on Nuclear Safety (CNS) have now made their national reports on the implementation of their obligations publicly available, the first time this has happened since the convention was established in 1996.

Ramzi Jammal (third from right) at the CNS Seventh Review Meeting in March 2017 (Image: D Calma/IAEA)

The CNS legally commits participating states operating land-based nuclear power plants to maintain a high level of safety by setting international benchmarks - largely based on fundamental principles set out by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) standards - covering nuclear plant siting, design, construction, operation, financial and human resources, safety assessment and verification, quality assurance and emergency preparedness. It entered into force on 24 October 1996, and as of June 2017 had 81 contracting parties - countries that have deposited an instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval. Ten further countries have signed the convention but not yet ratified it.

The convention requires parties to report on their implementation of obligations under the convention. The full set of national reports, which are open to peer review by other contracting parties, are now publicly available on the IAEA's web site, Ramzi Jammal, president of the Seventh Review Meeting of the CNS, announced on 21 July. "My primary objectives for this review meeting were to increase participation and transparency. I believe we are collectively achieving this," he said.

Reports are now available for 78 countries and Euratom, which were contracting parties to the CNS at the time of the Seventh Review Meeting. Thirty-six countries and Euratom published reports at the previous review meeting, which was held in 2014.

Jammal, executive vice-president of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, was elected as president of the Seventh Review Meeting of the CNS in March and will hold the post until October 2018. The next review meeting will be held in 2020.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News