Two US senators introduce international nuclear safety bill

Washington (Platts)--18Mar2011/609 pm EDT/2209 GMT

A bill introduced Thursday by two US Senators would call upon other nations to enhance their nuclear power safety programs and transparency.

Senators Daniel Akaka of Hawaii and Thomas Carper of Delaware, both Democrats, introduced the Furthering International Nuclear Safety Act of 2011 to "enhance worldwide cooperation on nuclear safety," Carper's office said in a statement Friday.

Carper is chairman of the Committee on Environment and Public Works' Clean Air and Nuclear Safety subcommittee, which oversees the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

US Representative Jeff Fortenberry, a Nebraska Republican, plans to introduce a companion bill later this month in the House of Representatives, the statement said.

Akaka said in the statement that the bill "would build on the international Convention on Nuclear Safety by improving information sharing, strategic planning, and performance evaluation, so nations can work together to prevent nuclear catastrophe."

Carper said this week's crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi, or Fukushima-1, nuclear power plant in Japan is "a sobering reminder that nuclear facilities are always vulnerable to unexpected disasters whether natural or man-made."

The statement said the legislation would require the US representative to the convention to encourage reforms such as "the use of performance metrics for countries to assess their own nuclear safety progress" and "increased public availability of information about nuclear safety efforts."

The International Atomic Energy Agency would be encouraged "to provide additional support for safety, when possible," and "all countries that have or are considering a civilian nuclear power program [would be encouraged] to join the Convention."

The legislation would also require the US federal government to develop a "strategic plan for international cooperation on nuclear power safety."

--Steven Dolley, steven_dolley@platts.com

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