UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT
PROGRAMME
AGENDA: THE QUESTION OF NUCLEAR ENERGY, NUCLEAR WASTE
DISPOSAL AND MITIGATION TO NUCLEAR DISASTERS
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Committee Chairs: K.Prahlad Narasimhan and Sankalpa
Venkatraghavan
Introduction:
As conventional sources of energy such as coal, petroleum and natural gas
resources cause environmental pollution and further are non-renewable,
alternative energy sources are needed. In this scenario, nations have turned
to renewable sources of energy such as hydro-electric, solar, tidal, geothermal
energy etc. and nuclear energy.
According to the World Nuclear Association, a nuclear power advocacy
group, over 45 countries are giving "serious consideration" to introducing a
nuclear power capability while over 435 commercial nuclear power
reactors are operable in 31 countries, with over 375,000 Mega Watts in
capacity and about 70 more reactors are under construction.
As nuclear energy is becoming more prevalent around the world, its
disadvantages such as:
 Generation of radioactive waste
 Nuclear disasters
 Nuclear proliferation
are observed.
Hence it a priority of the United Nation Environment Programme to discuss
and deliberate on the pros and cons of nuclear energy as an emerging,
quickly growing energy resource, and whether its benefits outweigh the
disadvantages since eminent disasters have occurred in the past such as the
Chernobyl disaster, Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster and the Three Mile
Island accident.
Definition of Key Terms:
Nuclear disasters:
Nuclear disaster is defined by the IAEA(International Atomic Energy Agency)
as an event which causes a dramatic change to our environment. For
instance, nuclear disasters lead to exposure of radiation, which has harmful
effects on our planet. The main cause of nuclear disasters is that the reactor
core is severely damaged, thus releasing significant amounts of radiation. The
impact of nuclear disasters has been debated since 1954,and such disasters
result in widespread damage to nations such as Russia, Japan and the U.S.
Researchers have adopted technological measures in order to control the
radioactivity released by the damage of core reactor.
IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency):
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an international
organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to
inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. IAEA
safeguards have evolved since their inception in the late 1960s. In 1980 the
IAEA published the first facilitating understanding of the specialized
safeguards terminology within the international community.
Background Information:

The science of atomic radiation, atomic change and nuclear fission
was developed from 1895 to 1945, much of it in the last six of those
years.

Over 1939-45, most development was focused on the atomic bomb.

From 1945 attention was given to harnessing this energy in a
controlled fashion for naval propulsion and for making electricity.

Since 1956 the prime focus has been on the technological evolution of
reliable nuclear power plants.
On June 27th the first nuclear power plant was established at Obninsk in
Russia. The Manhattan project was the first research and development
project that produced nuclear bombs during the second world war.
The NRX accident in 1952 in Ontario, Canada was the the world's first major
nuclear reactor accident. An explosion occurred in the reactor core but there
were no fatalities.
The Chernobyl disaster is one of the most catastrophic nuclear disasters
which occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant
in Ukraine. An explosion of radioactive particles spread through Russia
and Europe. Such magnitude explains how large amounts of radiation
were released at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The Chernobyl
disaster is remembered as the worst nuclear power plant accident in
history ,in terms of the number of casualties and the cost, both on the
economy and society.
At least 57 accidents have occurred since the Chernobyl disaster, and
over 56 nuclear accidents have occurred in the USA. Relatively few
accidents have involved fatalities.
The most recent nuclear disaster occurred on 11th march 2011 to the
Fukushima Daiichi reactors in Japan.Following a major earthquake, a
15-metre high tsunami disabled the power supply and cooling of three
Fukushima Daiichi reactors, causing a nuclear accident to occur.In
August, 2013, Japan stated that massive of amount of radioactive water
is a still problem, which is expected to take decades to clean and filter.
Radioactive Waste Management:

Nuclear power is the only large-scale energy-producing technology
which takes full responsibility for all its wastes and fully costs this
into the product.

The amount of radioactive wastes is very small relative to wastes
produced by fossil fuel electricity generation.

Used nuclear fuel may be treated as a resource or simply as a waste.

Nuclear wastes are neither particularly hazardous nor hard to
manage relative to other toxic industrial wastes.

Safe methods for the final disposal of high-level radioactive waste are
technically proven; the international consensus is that this should be
geological disposal.
All parts of the nuclear fuel cycle produce some radioactive waste and the
relatively modest cost of managing and disposing of this is part of the
electricity cost, i.e. it is internalised and paid for by the electricity consumers.
At each stage of the fuel cycle there are proven technologies to dispose of the
radioactive wastes safely. For low- and intermediate-level wastes these are
mostly being implemented. For high-level wastes some countries await the
accumulation of enough of it to warrant building geological repositories;
others, such as the USA, have encountered political delays.
Unlike other industrial wastes, the level of hazard of all nuclear waste - its
radioactivity - diminishes with time. Each radionuclide contained in the
waste has a half-life – the time taken for half of its atoms to decay and thus
for it to lose half of its radioactivity. Eventually all radioactive wastes decay
into non-radioactive elements. The more radioactive an isotope is, the faster
it decays.
The main objective in managing and disposing of radioactive (or other)
waste is to protect people and the environment. This means isolating or
diluting the waste so that the rate or concentration of any radionuclides
returned to the biosphere is harmless. To achieve this, practically all wastes
are contained and managed – some clearly need deep and permanent burial.
From nuclear power generation, none is allowed to cause harmful pollution.
All toxic wastes need to be dealt with safely, not just radioactive wastes. In
countries with nuclear power, radioactive wastes comprise less than 1% of
total industrial toxic wastes (the balance of which remains hazardous
indefinitely).
Effects Of Nuclear Disasters:
National and international spread of radioactive substances:
Nuclear disasters can release more radioactive particles than nuclear bombs
release. For instance, four hundred times more radioactive material was
released in Chernobyl accident than by using atomic bomb in Hiroshima
during World War II. This shows us how disastrous the Chernobyl accident
was. A nuclear accident can also affect other countries. The Chernobyl
accident contaminated areas of Europe as well as Russia. Approximately
100,000 km of the land was contaminated with radioactive particles.
Health of plant workers and local people:
In the aftermath of the accident, many people suffered from acute radioactive
sickness (ARS). Most of the victims of this disease were plant workers and
local people who were not aware of the presence of radiation. Not only does
radiation causes ARS, it can also cause mutations in their offspring and
cancers within 10 years. The effect of nuclear disaster cannot be seen
immediately, but in the long run, it causes many health problems.
Waste heat:
As with the thermal power stations, nuclear power plants exchange 60 to 70
percent of thermal energy by evaporating water through the tower. However,
compared to the efficiency of the coal power plants, nuclear power plants are
much less effective. Therefore, the remaining of the thermal energy is waste
heat.
High level waste:
High level waste is not only of nuclear disasters, they are also the effects of
using nuclear power in general. After using nuclear form uranium 235 and
plutonium 239, nuclear fission contains more than 100 high level wastes such
as strontium 90 and iodine131. Such wastes have to be regulated because
nuclear waste can cause serious environmental problems.
New Measures To Prevent Nuclear Disasters:
Construction of seismic isolated buildings:
Seismic buildings house an emergency response centre and other important
communication systems that would provide necessary foundation for disaster
prevention.
Strengthening Disaster prevention organization and
frameworks:
Providing a regular training program in order to recognize the severity of
nuclear disasters and the ways to prevent them is another measure.
Classes for learning from mistakes:
Providing classes for learning from mistakes is another program is another
way to improve nuclear disasters. This fosters the awareness of safety among
workers engaging in nuclear power stations.
Relevant UN Documents, Treaties and Events:
Here are some of the documents and treaties that are relevant to this Agenda.
You can find more resources at
http://www.un.org/en/documents/index.shtml
24th January 1946
United Nations Atomic Energy Commission (UNAEC) was established,
UN calls for elimination of atomic weapons.
1957
The IAEA was created in 1957 in response to the deep fears and
expectations resulting from the discovery of nuclear energy.
1stDecember 1959
Nuclear tests are banned in Antarctica; the Antarctic Treaty opens for
signature. It establishes that nuclear explosion in Antarctica and the
disposal there of radioactive waste material was prohibited.
5 August 1963
Partial Test Ban Treaty opens for signature it is a treaty banning nuclear
testing in the atmosphere, outer space and under water which was
signed in Moscow.
1 July 1968
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) was passed
to ensure that nuclear materials are used only for peaceful purposes.
1980
Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material was held in
Vienna.
1985
South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty bans the stationing, acquisition or
testing of nuclear explosive devices and the dumping of nuclear waste
within the zone.
10 September 1996
CTBT (Comprehensive Nuclear test ban treaty) is a multilateral treaty
which bans nuclear explosions in countries to protect the environment as
well as civilians.
2001
Security Council resolution 1373, which was adopted in 2001 under Chapter
VII of the UN Charter, notes with concern the close connection between
international terrorism and the illegal movement of nuclear materials. The
resolution obliges all States to criminalize assistance for terrorist activities,
deny financial support and safe haven to terrorists and exchange information
for the prevention and prosecution of criminal acts.
IAEA Nuclear Security Plan for 2014-2017
The objective of the Nuclear Security Plan for 2014–2017 is to contribute to
global efforts to achieve effective security wherever nuclear and other
radioactive material is in use, storage and/or transport, and of associated
facilities by supporting States, upon request, in their efforts to meet their
national responsibilities and international obligations, to reduce risks and to
respond appropriately to threats.
Points to Consider:
The following are a set of ideas you should take into account to write a
comprehensive resolution. These are not full solutions, merely suggestions to
improve you resolution.
 Is nuclear energy so beneficial that we can disregard the worst case
scenario? When nuclear disasters occur, there are several serious
consequences as listed above but on the other hand nuclear energy has
several benefits such as its highly efficient, doesn’t rely upon
environmental factors, continuous supply of electricity and lower
greenhouse gas emissions .Do the risks pay off when we witness
disasters like the Fukushima Daiichi disaster?
 What are the treaties/agreements that have been enforced to prevent
nuclear disasters? Have they been effective?
 How can we ensure that nuclear material obtained by nations for
energy production isn’t misused for nuclear proliferation?
 The possible occurrence of a natural disaster affecting or causing a
nuclear disaster should be noted
 After nuclear disasters there is a high risk for genetic damage in future
generations. Thus careful health follow-up particularly of children
should be undertaken.
 Lastly consider the idea of implementing a right to information on the
levels of radioactivity (in air, soil, food and water).Wherein the it will
be the responsibility of the operator and government to provide timely
information regarding this to the citizens living in the area near a
nuclear power plant it could further be backed up by measurements
made by one or more independent laboratories.
All the best guys! If you’ll need any help, please feel free to contact the Chairs
through Email or their cell phones. We have also created a blog in the website
itself (in the contacts section).You could also contact the VMUN team on the
Official Email ID : vidyamun15@gmail.com
Sankalpa:7401483864
Prahlad: 9962195150