The Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management. A move toward a global safety

Full text: The Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management (the Joint Convention) is the first international legally binding instrument to address the issue of safety on a global scale. It was drafted by a group of experts from July 1995 to March 1997, adopted by a Diplomatic Conference in September 1997 and opened for signature on 29 September 1997. The Convention entered into force on 18 June 1998, and to date has been signed by 44 States, of which 34 have formally confirmed, thus becoming Contracting Parties. A first Review Meeting of the Contracting Parties was held in November 2003 in Vienna, through which the Convention has become fully operational. The Joint Convention applies to spent fuel and radioactive waste resulting from civilian application. Spent fuel and radioactive waste from military application are covered by the Convention only when and if these materials are transferred permanently to and managed by civilian programs. The Convention's main objective is 'to achieve and maintain a high level of safety worldwide in spent fuel and waste management.' The obligations of the Contracting Parties are largely based on the international safety standard developed by the IAEA, in particular on the principles contained in the IAEA Safety Fundamentals document 'The Principles of Radioactive Waste Management' published in 1995. The Convention is relevant not only for those countries having nuclear energy programs, but for any country where activity generating radioactive waste is carried out or planned, included medicine and research. This paper will describe the origin of the Convention, its content, the potential benefits from being part to it, and summarize the findings of the first Review Meeting. (author)