International Atomic Energy Agency
JOINT CONVENTION ON THE SAFETY OF SPENT FUEL
MANAGEMENT AND ON THE SAFETY OF RADIOACTIVE
WASTE MANAGEMENT
Interregional Training Course on Technical Requirements to Fulfil
National Obligations in Terms of International Legal Instruments
(Joint Convention, Code of Conduct and EU Directives) for the Safe
Management of DSRS
Tunis, Tunisia
16 - 20 February 2015
WHY A CONVENTION?
• Countries can enter agreements in many
•
ways
UN Bodies such as IAEA and WHO
create safety standards BUT no
international legal obligation to apply
them – and demonstrate compliance
International Atomic Energy Agency
CONVENTION on NUCLEAR SAFETY
• Chernobyl accident 1986 prompted
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moves towards stronger international
legal obligations
AND peer review mechanism
Leading to the development of the
Convention on Nuclear Safety (CNS)
Entered into force October 1996
Dramatically improved safety of civil
NPPs
International Atomic Energy Agency
But only Nuclear Safety
• Although CNS was very important, it was
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recognised while it was being developed
that there were other problems that could
be tackled in the same way
One of these was how to deal safely with
Radioactive Waste
Mentioned in the preamble to the CNS
International Atomic Energy Agency
An “INCENTIVE” CONVENTION
• Both the the CNS and the Joint
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Convention are “incentive” conventions
Based on understanding that all States
really want to achieve safety
An incentive convention provides a clear
description of what is needed for safety,
and
A mechanism for “peer review” to help
achieve safety and demonstrate that it
has been achieved
International Atomic Energy Agency
Prerequisites
• Before you can have a convention to
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enforce international safety standards
you must have those standards
So development of the convention had to
wait for the adoption in March 1995 of the
Safety Fundamentals for Radioactive
Waste Management
International Atomic Energy Agency
International Atomic Energy Agency
A “SISTER” CONVENTION
• When the Agency Board of Governors
started the process for development of a
second convention it was decided to
closely model it on the CNS as a sort of
“SISTER” Convention - partly to ensure
that where one left off the other
continued
International Atomic Energy Agency
Creating the Convention
• The mechanism adopted was to set up a
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Group of Experts – legal and technical.
First meeting July 1995
128 participants from 53 countries and
observers from 4 international
organisations
Chair Prof. Alec Baer from Switzerland
Group met 7 times over two years
International Atomic Energy Agency
The Group of Experts
International Atomic Energy Agency
Diplomatic conference
• Once the Group of experts had agreed a text it
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was submitted to a diplomatic conference for
approval
This was not a “rubber-stamping” exercise and
several matters were put to the vote
The votes dealt with the inclusion of
reprocessing on a voluntary basis, prior
notification and consent for transboundary
movements, the position of non-State entities
and finally there was a substantial majority
vote on the entire text
International Atomic Energy Agency
Opening for signature
• The Joint Convention was opened for
signature during the Agency general
conference in September 1997
International Atomic Energy Agency
Why a “Joint” Convention?
• The most difficult problem faced by the
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•
Group of experts was:
Some experts regarded spent fuel as a
form of waste for disposal
Some experts regarded spent fuel as a
resource for extracting plutonium as fuel
International Atomic Energy Agency
Negotiation and reconciliation
• Several approaches were tried from a
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single convention covering everything in
one set of articles, through additional
protocols to two completely separate
conventions
Eventually the compromise was the a
joint convention in which many sections
apply to both but some sections apply
specifically to spent fuel or to radioactive
waste
International Atomic Energy Agency
Overall objectives
• The objectives are to achieve and
maintain a high level of safety worldwide
in spent fuel and radioactive waste
management
International Atomic Energy Agency
Ensuring protection
• Achieving the objective will ensure the
protection of individuals, society and the
environment against the harmful effects
of ionizing radiation, now and in the
future, help to prevent accidents with
radiological consequences and mitigate
their consequences should they occur
International Atomic Energy Agency
The Convention applies to
• Radioactive waste
• Spent fuel
• Reprocessing
• Military and defence programmes
• Discharges
International Atomic Energy Agency
Radioactive waste
• Defined as radioactive material in
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gaseous, liquid or solid form for which no
further use is foreseen, and which is
controlled as radioactive waste by a
regulatory body
Note no quantitative definition BUT as
countries have to report their definitions
the intention is to gradually harmonise
them
International Atomic Energy Agency
Natural radioactivity
• The convention does NOT apply to NORM
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wastes unless this originates from the
nuclear fuel cycle or is declared to be
included by the Contracting Party
This means that Uranium mining wastes
ARE included
International Atomic Energy Agency
Sealed sources
• There is a specific inclusion of disused
sealed sources in Article 28
International Atomic Energy Agency
Spent fuel
• The stage is set for the inclusion of spent
fuel in the preamble which “recognizes”
that reactors generate spent fuel and
radioactive waste, that the same safety
objectives apply to the management of
both, and that some states regard spent
fuel as a resource, others as a waste
International Atomic Energy Agency
Spent fuel
• The actual definition of spent fuel is
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entirely factual as
“Nuclear fuel that has been irradiated in
and permanently removed from a reactor
core”
This definition includes spent fuel from
research reactors when it is no longer
intended for reinsertion into the core
International Atomic Energy Agency
Reprocessing
• The inclusion of reprocessing was made
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at a late stage and is of an “opt-in” nature
It requires the Contracting Party to
declare reprocessing to be part of spent
fuel management
This then brings spent fuel held at
reprocessing facilities within the scope
The radioactive waste from reprocessing
is always within the scope
International Atomic Energy Agency
Military and Defence Programmes
• This is also an “opt-in” provision relying
on the declaration of spent fuel and
radioactive waste from these
programmes, unless the materials have
been transferred to civilian programmes
in which case they are automatically
within the scope
International Atomic Energy Agency
Discharges
• A distinction is made between
• “disposal” meaning the emplacement in a
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facility with no intention of retrieval
“discharge” meaning the releases to the
environment of liquid or gaseous
radioactive materials from regulated
nuclear facilities during normal operation
Discharges fall under the scope
International Atomic Energy Agency
Safety needs an Infrastructure
• Several Articles underline the general
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obligation on each Contracting Party to
establish and maintain a legislative and
regulatory framework to govern safety
Many of these can be traced to:
Safety Series No. 111-S-1 “Establishing a
National System for Radioactive Waste
Management”
International Atomic Energy Agency
International Atomic Energy Agency
Infrastructure requirements
• An effectively independent Regulatory
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body
A system of licensing, inspection and
enforcement
Sufficient qualified staff and financial
resources during operation and
decommissioning
Financial provisions for post-closure if
further control deemed necessary
International Atomic Energy Agency
Protection for Workers
• The Convention requires Countries to
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comply with normal radiological
protection objectives, i.e.
Keeping doses ALARA
Keeping doses within dose limits
International Atomic Energy Agency
Discharges from ALL facilities
• The substantial provision for the control
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of discharges requires these to be
ALARA and within dose limits
This provision applies to ALL facilities
and installations, whereas most other
requirements apply only to spent fuel or
radioactive waste management facilities
International Atomic Energy Agency
Emergency preparedness
• Although not given the same importance
as in the CNS, the Convention requires
appropriate on-site and, if necessary, offsite emergency plans before and during
operation of a spent fuel or radioactive
waste management facility
International Atomic Energy Agency
General Safety Requirements
• These are to ensure protection against
• radiological hazards for spent fuel, and
• radiological and other hazards for
radioactive waste
• This reflects the judgement that radioactive
waste may have associated biological or
chemical hazards
International Atomic Energy Agency
General Safety Requirements (2)
• These are very similar to the safety
fundamentals and cover:
• Criticality
• Waste minimisation
• Interdependencies
• Protection of individuals, society and the
environment
• Avoidance of impacts and burdens on future
generations
International Atomic Energy Agency
Existing facilities and past practices
• There is a requirement to review the
safety of:
• Existing spent fuel and radioactive waste
management facilities
• The results of past practices to determine
whether intervention is required – this
includes for example tailings ponds or
radium stores
International Atomic Energy Agency
Proposed facilities
• There are a number of provisions for
proposed facilities, including:
• Siting
• Design and construction, and
• Safety assessment
• Informing the public
• Consulting other Contracting Parties in the
vicinity of a proposed facility.
International Atomic Energy Agency
Operation of facilities
• This requires that the licence to operate
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be based on a safety assessment
There are also detailed requirements
relating to
• Operational limits
• Maintenance
• Monitoring
• Inspection and testing
• Reporting
• Collection and analysis of experience
International Atomic Energy Agency
Post-closure provisions
• Three post-closure provisions of
decreasing prescriptiveness are specified
for disposal facilities:
• Records are to be preserved
• Active or passive institutional controls are
carried out, if required, and
• If, during active control, a release is
detected, intervention is implemented, if
necessary
International Atomic Energy Agency
Disposal of spent fuel
• There is a short, but crucial Article
which stipulates that, if a Contracting
Party has decided not to reprocess or
continue to store spent fuel, its disposal
shall be in accordance with all the
obligations for disposal of radioactive
waste
International Atomic Energy Agency
Transboundary movement
• This Article incorporates the major
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provisions of the 1990 Code of Practice
on the International Transboundary
Movement of Radioactive Waste
It applies however to the movement of
both spent fuel and radioactive waste
International Atomic Energy Agency
Transboundary movement (2)
• The main obligation is on a Contracting
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Party sending the material to ensure that
transboundary movement takes place
only with the prior consent of the State to
which it is going
The sender has to be satisfied that the
receiver has the administrative and
technical capacity to manage it safely
International Atomic Energy Agency
Transboundary movement (3)
• The Convention is silent on movements
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between Contracting Parties and nonContracting Parties
The Convention imposes no
requirements for notification of or
consent by States of transit
There is a specific prohibition of
shipment to a destination south of
latitude 60° S.
International Atomic Energy Agency
Disused sealed sources
• Contracting parties have to allow for
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reentry into its territory of disused sealed
sources, but only if
“in the framework of its national law, it
has accepted that they be returned to a
manufacturer qualified to receive and
possess the disuse sealed sources”
International Atomic Energy Agency
Entry into force
• The Convention entered into force on the 90th
day after deposit with the Agency of the 25th
instrument of ratification, including the
instruments of 15 States each having an
operational nuclear power plant.
• This provision was to effectively ensure that States
with substantial amounts of radioactive waste were
well represented
• The date of entry into force was 18 June 2001
International Atomic Energy Agency
Meetings
• The Convention operates through
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meetings of Contracting Parties. These
are:
An initial preparatory meeting, and then
periodic review meetings
Review meeting take place at intervals
not greater than 3 years
International Atomic Energy Agency
Preparatory meeting
• The “Preparatory Meeting” was held in
December 2001. Its functions were;
• To decide the date of the first Review
meeting
• To prepare and adopt Rules of Procedure
and Financial Rules
• To establish guidelines regarding National
Reports
International Atomic Energy Agency
Organizational meeting
• The first Organizational meeting was held in
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April 2003 with 29 of the 30 Contracting Parties.
On special request the United States of
America was permitted to join the meeting as a
full participant.
The main tasks were:
• To elect all the Officers for the first Review Meeting
• To allocate Contracting Parties to country groups
• To decide on languages for relevant parts of the
meeting
International Atomic Energy Agency
Country Groups
• To promote peer review within relatively
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small discussion groups the mechanism
developed by the CNS has been adopted
A number of groups is determined – then
Contracting Parties are allocated using a
tennis seeding method first based on the
number of nuclear power plants and then
alphabetically for States with no plants
International Atomic Energy Agency
Officers
• President and Vice-Presidents of the review
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Meeting
For each Country Group
• Chairperson
• Vice-chairperson
• Rapporteur
• Co-ordinator
• There are procedures to ensure that no
Chairperson or Rapporteur is in the group of
his/her Country
International Atomic Energy Agency
National reports
• The main input to the Review meeting is
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the national Reports of Contracting
parties
There is considerable detail in the
Convention as to the content of these
reports and the preparatory meeting also
adopted Guidelines on their preparation
International Atomic Energy Agency
National reports (2)
• The report must detail the measures
taken to address all obligations. It must
also contain:
• Spent fuel and radioactive waste
management policy and practices
• Radioactive waste definition
• List of operational facilities
• Inventory of spent fuel and radioactive waste
• List of facilities being decommissioned
International Atomic Energy Agency
Review Meetings
• 1st - Vienna, November 2003
• May 2006, May 2009 and May 2012 –
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Review Meetings, next 2015
69 Countries are party to the convention
(+ EURATOM)
International Atomic Energy Agency
Contracting Parties: 69
Last change of Status: 9 October 2013
2015
52
International Atomic Energy Agency
Contracting Parties: 69
Last change of Status: 9 October 2013
Albania
EURATOM
Lithuania
Slovakia
Argentina
Finland
Luxembourg
Slovenia
Armenia
France
Malta
South Africa
Australia
Gabon
Mauritania
Spain
Austria
Georgia
Mauritius
Sweden
Belarus
Germany
Moldova, Rep. of
Switzerland
Belgium
Ghana
Montenegro
T. F. Y. R. of Macedonia
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Greece
Morocco
Tajikistan
Brazil
Hungary
Netherlands
Ukraine
Bulgaria
Iceland
Nigeria
United Arab Emirates
Canada
Indonesia
Norway
United Kingdom
Chile
Ireland
Oman
United States of America
China
Italy
Poland
Uruguay
Croatia
Japan
Portugal
Uzbekistan
Cyprus
Kazakhstan
Romania
Vietnam
Czech Republic
Korea, Republic of
Russian Federation
Denmark
Kyrgyzstan
Saudi Arabia
Estonia
Latvia
Senegal
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International Atomic Energy Agency
SUMMARY
• The Joint Convention provides:
• A legally binding set of obligations on
•
Contracting Parties to achieve and
demonstrate safety in spent fuel and
radioactive waste management
A peer review mechanism to help
countries meet these obligations
International Atomic Energy Agency
International Atomic Energy Agency