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Updated: 26.06.2008
Since
2004, when the EU
Ministers rejected the Commission’s
proposal for a Directive on the Management of Radioactive Waste,
very little progress have been made. The only are where substantial progress
happened is the radioactive waste transport in 2007, and in the beginning
of 2008.
| Index of this
Page: |
· Transport
of Radioactive Waste
- Consultation
on the Transport of Radioactive Materials (Fall 2007). Read
- Council Directive on the Supervision and Control of
Shipments of Radioactive Waste and Spent Fuel. 2006/117/Euratom.
(20 November 2006). Read |
· Proposal
for a Directive on Management of Spent Fuel and Radioactive
Waste (COM2004(526)final)
- Content
of the Directive. Read
- History. Read
- INFORSE
Recommendations Regarding Original Proposal. Read |
Transport
of Radioactive Waste
Consultation
on the Transport of Radioactive Materials (Fall
2007)
At the end of 2007, the European Commission launched an Impact Assessment
through an open consultation for the evaluation of a potential legislative
measure in the area of Transport of Radioactive Materials (TRAM). These
materials include medical isotopes as well as nuclear materials. The
consultation especially addressed issues like citizens concern about
TRAM and the need for transparency, avoiding delays in transport, modifying
the current regulations.
The consultation has been closed at the end of January 2008 but the results
have not been published yet (June 2008).
Read more on the European
Commission's web site.
Council
Directive on the Supervision and Control of Shipments of Radioactive
Waste and Spent Fuel. 2006/117/Euratom. (20 November 2006)
This Directive provides a compulsory and common system of notification
and a standard control document for the shipments (e.g. procedures
of authorization, application for transit). The Directive covers shipments
above
a certain quantity,
which have a point of departure, transit or destination into the Community.
However, the Directive doesn’t apply in some cases:
- Shipments of sources being returned to a supplier, manufacturer or
authorized installation
- Shipments of radioactive substances recovered through reprocessing
and destined for a different use
- Shipments of natural radioactive substances, which do not result from
treatment
A Member State can refuse a shipment if its decision is justified by
the legislation. However, for shipments within the Community, it is
not possible to impose conditions which are more stringent than those
laid
down by the national law of a Member State. Consequently, the Directive
simplify administrative procedures, but it introduces few progresses
regarding the protection of its citizens.
Regarding
African, Caribbean and Pacific countries, the Directive forbids shipments
to a third country which doesn’t have the resources to
treat radioactive waste safely.
Read
the text of the Directive on the EU
law web site.
Proposal
for a Directive on Management of Spent Fuel and Radioactive Waste
(COM2004(526)final)
Content of
the Directive
The
core of the draft Directive on Management of Spent Fuel and Radioactive
Waste (COM2004(526)final) is the following:
- Member States are required to decide on having either a national or
regional high level deep geological disposal site by 2008.
- These sites must be operational by 2018
- Storage facilities for low-level radioactive waste should be operating
by 2013.
- The EU will co-ordinate the research on radioactive waste disposal.
It is clear from the
draft that a decision has been taken that deep geological disposal
is the most
appropriate route to ensure the containment of long-lived
radioactive wastes. However, the basis of this opinion remains unclear.
Furthermore, there appears no justification for the timetables proposed
which both potentially endanger public consultation processes and scientific
analysis into the potential movement of radio nuclides through geological
formation over time.
Read the official
text on the EU
law web site, and a different view on EU
Energy.com
History
2002, November 6: the EU Commission proposed a Directive on radioactive
waste
2003, January 30: A new version was released.
2003: The proposal had been discussed among the EU countries.
At the end of 2003: It was discussed in the EU Parliament committee
on industry, external trade, research; though the Parliament has no formal
decision power on this issue.
2004 May and June,
the EU ministers discussed the "EU Nuclear Package" including
the directive on radioactive waste management. They concluded that rather
than work further with the directives, they will " engage in a wide
ranging consultation process facilitating the choice of instrument(s),
in the framework of the Euratom Treaty, that can contribute more effectively
to achieving nuclear safety and the safe management of spent fuel and
radioactive waste, without excluding any instrument". The countries
will further " return to this matter in a timely manner."
2004, September 8: Amended proposal from the Commission (COM(2004) 526
final).
2004 October: The countries decide no to work on the new proposal from
the Commission, but to continue based on their June 04 conclusions.
The decision of the countries postponed the proposal for a long period.
INFORSE Recommendations Regarding Original Proposal
The proposal includes setting of arbitrary dates (2018) for the operation
of disposal sites for radioactive waste that must be isolated from
the environment for hundreds of thousands of years. This is illogical.
Furthermore, the proposed dates may interfere with the scientific analysis
and public consultation process necessary for the creation of the most
suitable storage facilities.
The Commission should ensure that the export of nuclear waste for final
disposal outside the EU is prohibited, as it will increase the risk that
the environment is contaminated.
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