Main achievements in international co-operation through the International Atomic Energy Agency

The International Atomic Energy Agency Statute provides a broad framework for world-wide co-operation in peaceful nuclear activities. In various areas of importance to the development and safe use of nuclear power, international co-operation through the Agency has resulted in achievements of far-reaching impact. This includes the safety of nuclear installations, radiological and environmental protection, the transport and physical protection of nuclear materials, nuclear data processing and information exchange, technical co-operation in manpower development, planning and implementation of nuclear power programmes, liability provisions for nuclear damage, emergency preparedness, nuclear supplies, fuel cycle studies and a wide range of specialized publications of an advisory nature or for regulatory purposes. Within the purview of the Agency's statutory functions, co-operative efforts continue to concentrate on devising internationally acceptable schemes for the management of spent fuel, for international storage of plutonium and for assurances of nuclear supplies on a predictable and long-term basis. The Expert Group on International Spent Fuel Management, set up in 1979, completed its work in July 1982. Its report, dealing with the potential for international co-operation to solve problems created by a growing accumulation of spent fuel, could be of value for storage arrangements on a multinational scale among interested authorities and utilities. The Expert Group on International Plutonium Storage, set up in 1978, is expected to submit in 1983 a report outlining possible arrangements for storing excess plutonium under the Agency's custody as foreseen in the Statute. The Committee on Assurances of Supply, established in 1980, is continuing its work, the outcome of which may be a set of rules for international trade and technology exchange in the nuclear field