Considerations on COM(2004)526 - Basic obligations and general principles on the safety of nuclear installations - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2004)526 - Basic obligations and general principles on the safety of nuclear installations. |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2004)526  |
| date | September 8, 2004 |
(2) Article 30 of the Treaty stipulates that basic standards shall be laid down within the Community for the protection of the health of workers and the general public against the dangers arising from ionising radiations.
(3) Council Directive 96/29/Euratom i lays down basic safety standards for the protection of the health of workers and the general public against the dangers arising from ionising radiation.
(4) The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power station in 1986 highlighted the need for the Community to supplement the basic standards in force at the time with provisions applying in case of a radiological emergency. Accordingly, Council Decision 87/600/Euratom i established arrangements for the early exchange of information in the event of a radiological emergency while Council Directive 89/618/Euratom of 27 November 1989 on informing the general public about health protection measures to be applied and steps to be taken in the event of a radiological emergency i imposed obligations on the Member States on informing the general public in the event of a radiological emergency.
(5) The basic standards were further supplemented by Council Directive 92/3/Euratom on the supervision and control of shipments of radioactive waste between Member States and into and out of the Community i and by Council Regulation (Euratom) No 1493/93 of 8 June 1993 on shipments of radioactive substances between Member States i.
(6) Council Directive 2003/122/Euratom of 22 December 2003 on the control of high activity sealed radioactive sources and orphan sources i sets out specific requirements to ensure that such sources are kept under control including when they become disused sources.
(7) Although the radiation protection system created by the basic standards in force ensures a high level of protection for the health of the population based on current scientific knowledge on this subject, this must be supplemented to ensure that a high level of safety of nuclear installations is maintained. Keeping up a high level of safety from conception to decommissioning by maintaining effective defences against radiological risks and preventing accidents which could have radiological consequences is a sine qua non in order to fully attain the objectives of health protection set out in Article 2(b) of the Treaty.
(8) The Member States have already implemented measures enabling them to achieve a high level of nuclear safety within the EU. The evaluation of nuclear safety in the new Member States , carried out by the Council, has ascertained that these countries have already achieved a comparable level of safety or will be in a position to do so, subject to the full implementation of the recommendations resulting from the evaluation.
(9) International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) standards and approaches constitute an internationally recognised framework of best practice on which national safety requirements are primarily based and to the improvement of which Member States have made considerable contributions.
(10) Despite a degree of harmonisation, today the nuclear safety measures still vary widely from one Member State to another. At present, this diversity of measures does not allow the Community to satisfy itself that the health protection requirements of Article 2(b) of the Treaty are applied in the best possible way. The European Atomic Energy Community by joining the Convention on Nuclear Safety, which entered into force on 24 October 1996, committed itself to respect an internationally recognised high level of nuclear safety. In order for the Community to ensure that the principles of this Convention are respected at Community level and that 'uniform safety standards' as required by Article 2(b) of Euratom Treaty are applied, the basic standards for radiation protection should be supplemented by common safety principles.
(11) National responsibility for the safety of nuclear installations is the fundamental principle on which nuclear safety regulation has been developed by the international community, as endorsed by the Convention on Nuclear Safety and its Parties including the European Atomic Energy Community; the prime responsibility for the safety of a nuclear installation should, therefore, rest with the licence holder under the control of its national regulatory body and should not be reduced by the provisions of this Directive.
(12) As well as during the active life of a nuclear installation, dangers from ionising radiation may also arise as a result of decommissioning operations. In order to deal with the risks attached to the disposal of radioactive materials, it is necessary to ensure the safe decommissioning of nuclear installations including the long-term management of radioactive waste and of spent fuel.
(13) In order to attain the Community objectives regarding radioprotection mentioned above, it is essential to define the basic obligations and general principles on the safety of nuclear installations.
(14) It is necessary that adequate financial resources are available to support the safety of nuclear installations. To this end, Member States should ensure that such financial resources are built up throughout the productive service life of the installations and are actually available for the purpose for which they have been established.
(15) This Directive is consistent with the logic of the regime established by the 1994 Convention on Nuclear Safety, which entered into force on 24 October 1996 and to which all the Member States are parties. By Commission Decision 1999/819/Euratom i the European Atomic Energy Community acceded to the Convention on 31 January 2000. Since the scope of that Convention is limited to nuclear power plants, this Directive extends the principles laid down therein to all nuclear installations where consideration of safety is required.
(16) In the same context, the International Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management i, which entered into force on 18 June 2001, specifies in Article 26 that each contracting party shall take appropriate steps to ensure the safety of decommissioning of a nuclear facility. Such steps shall ensure that qualified staff and adequate financial resources are available. Article 22(ii) of the Convention calls on each Contracting Party to take the appropriate steps to ensure that adequate financial resources are available to support the safety of facilities for spent fuel and radioactive waste management during their operating lifetime and for decommissioning.
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(17) In order to monitor application of rules set up in conformity with this Directive, Member States should submit reports to the Commission on the measures taken to fulfil their obligations under this Directive.
(18) With a view to making the best use of national regulatory authorities experience and contributing to the development of a common approach to nuclear safety, a Committee of Regulatory Authorities should be established.
(19) The Commission carried out numerous consultations, with both the national authorities and industries concerned with its proposals, individually or collectively through various for a. Consultations were also undertaken with international organizations, such as the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Nuclear Energy Agency. The Commission took also advantage of its participation in various international meetings to present its legislative proposals. These consultations not only enabled the Commission to present its perception of the problems of nuclear safety in the broad sense but also enabled it to collect the reactions of the various participants in order to foster its reflections.