CRITICAL
ISSUES FORUM
BENCHMARK II
Nuclear
Renaissance: Risks versus Benefits
The Author: Evgeny Bekker
Form 10A
High school №216 ÒDidaktÓ
The Teacher-Advisor: Elena Kurenkova
The Teacher of English
High school №216 ÒDidaktÓ
Zarechny
Penza Region
Russia
2008
Benchmark II
Introduction
In Benchmark I IÕve given explanation of nuclear
energy and its difference from other energy sources. In benchmark II IÕll give
an understanding of national and international controls of nuclear energy, the
spread of nuclear energy and and some of the issues of spread and use of
nuclear energy.
Objective
I
Nuclear power is beneficial
sources of energy, but itÕs also a very powerful weapon. Because of that it is
very important to control its proliferation in the world. So there are
organizations and laws that control it in every country that possesses nuclear
technologies. LetÕs examine some of them.
Organizations monitoring nuclear energy in
Russia
History:
á Until 1989 the USSR Ministry
of Medium Machine-Building controlled the situation with nuclear energy in
Russia.
á 1989 the Ministry of Atomic
Power and Industry (MAPI) replaced the USSR Ministry of Medium Machine-Building.
á Ministry of Atomic Energy was
established by the presidential decree on 28 January 1992 and itÕs replaced the
Ministry of Atomic Power and Industry.
á The Federal Atomic Energy
Agency was established by Presidential Edict No. 314 of 9 March 2004, On the
System and Structure of Federal Organs of Executive Power.
FAAE (ÒMinatomÓ)
(Was formed in 9 march 2004)
The FAAE controls 151 nuclear
production and research facilities.
Structure of
FAAE organization
Spheres of
activity
LetÕs compare two
organizations from USA (U.S. NRS) and Russia (FAAE) that control and monitor nuclear energy in their countries.
|
|
U.S. NRS |
FAAE |
|
Date
of creation |
1974 |
9 march 2004 |
|
Functions |
á
Provides protection of public health and safety and of the environment
from the effects of radiation from nuclear reactors, materials, and waste
facilities. á
Developing regulations and guidance for our applicants and licensees. á
Licensing or certifying applicants to use nuclear materials or operate
nuclear facilities. á
Overseeing licensee operations and facilities to ensure that licensees
comply with safety requirements. á
Conducting research, holding hearings to address the concerns of
parties affected by agency decisions, and obtaining independent reviews to
support our regulatory decisions. |
Provides: á
Protection of environment from negative technological influence. á
Safe use of nuclear energy. á
Safe managing explosive materials. Can edit or develop laws
connected with nuclear industry. Controls and watches over: á Observation of laws in
sphere of nuclear energy. á Licenses of conduction works
in sphere of nuclear energy. á Nuclear, radiological and
technological safety. |
As we
can see there are no essential differences between organizations monitoring nuclear
energy in different countries.
The
control over nuclear technologies in Russia is achieved by organization which
controls every sphere of nuclear industry and develops laws connected with
nuclear industry. It is very important to have correct and useful laws about
nuclear energy. What are the laws monitoring nuclear energy in Russia?
Laws monitoring
nuclear energy in Russia
In
many countries, possessing nuclear technologies, laws, which monitor them, were
developed much earlier than nuclear technologies found their practical use. In
Russia, however, very long period there were no laws controlling management and
security (safety) standards of nuclear energy usage, protecting health and
possessing of citizens and environment from negative influence of nuclear energy.
From its appearance, nuclear industry in Russia and many other countries existed
in special mode. First of all it was created for military purposes and formed
like closed structure. The absence of laws and monitoring of nuclear energy was
because of the total secrecy. The first law connected with nuclear energy was
accepted in 1995.
Laws about nuclear energy accepted in Russia:
|
The
law |
Date
of acceptation |
Idea |
|
ÒAbout
the usage of nuclear energyÓ |
21 November 1995 |
To
manage general questions about nuclear energy. |
|
ÒAbout
radiation safety of populationÓ |
9
January 1996 |
To
protect the population from radiation. |
|
ÒAbout
financial support of radiation and nuclear organization and objectsÓ |
3
April 1996 |
To
financially support organizations connected with the nuclear fuel cycle. |
|
ÒAbout
the punishment of crimes of organizations in sphere of usage of nuclear
energyÓ |
12
May 2000 |
To
establish the main punishment measures for crimes in sphere of illegal usage
of nuclear energy. |
Though
it looks like there are more than enough laws helping to monitor the current
state of affairs in sphere of nuclear energy, the practice shows us that it is
not sufficient them and that further development of laws will follow.
International
Atomic Energy Agency
One
country can use nuclear technology in different ways and with different goals:
It can build power plants or develop and produce nuclear weapons. Because of
that there is an international independent organization, called the IAEA
(International Atomic Energy Agency), which controls the collaboration between
countries, proliferation, development, production and other aspects of managing
nuclear energy.
IAEA
(International
Atomic Energy Agency)
1.
Date of creation:
a.
It was created in 1957 correspondently to the solution of 3 December
1955, accepted by the United Nations. ItÕs included in the system of the United
Nations and represents every year report describing its activity to the United
Nations.
2.
Spheres of activity:
a.
Calls international scientific forums and conferences for discussion of
nuclear industry development.
b.
Directs specialists into different countries for aid in research work.
c.
Aids in transfer of nuclear materials and equipment between different
countries.
d.
Fulfills control functions and controls that the assistance of agency
wonÕt be used for military aims.
e.
Watch over the questions of safety of nuclear energy industry,
especially after the accident in Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986.
3.
Treaties connected with
nuclear energy:
a.
NPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty) is an international treaty to limit the spread of nuclear weapons,
opened for signature on July 1, 1968. There are currently 189 countries parties
to the treaty, five of which have nuclear weapons: the United States, the
United Kingdom, France, Russia, and the People's Republic of China. Only four
nations are not signatories: India, Israel, Pakistan and North Korea. India and
Pakistan both possess and have openly tested nuclear bombs. Israel has had a
policy of opacity regarding its own nuclear weapons program. North Korea
ratified the treaty, violated it, and later withdrew.
b.
Nuclear disarmament is the proposed dismantling of
nuclear weapons, particularly those of the United States and the Soviet Union
(later Russia) targeted on each other.
c.
The right to peacefully use
nuclear technology
Objective 2
Nuclear program
of North Korea
Chronology:
á
In 1959 North Korea concluded the cooperation deals in sphere of
peaceful use of nuclear energy with the USSR and C.P.R. (Chinese Peoples'
Republic) and began the building of the YongByon research center.
á
In 1970-s the work on nuclear weapons began.
á
In 1974 PDRK (People's Democratic Republic of Korea) entered the IAEA
and asked help from C.P.R. in the matter of development of nuclear weapons.
á
On December 12, 1985 PDRK signed the NPT.
á
In 1989 Through satellite
photos, the U.S. learns of new construction at a nuclear complex near the North
Korean town of YongByon
á
In 1990Õs PDRK acquired the equipment needed for the enrichment of the
uranium.
á
Since June 1992 the inspections of IAEA on nuclear objects of the
country began. However, the inspectors were not allowed on some objects. That
led to scandal and excess of PDRK from the NPT.
á
In June 1993 PDRK stopped withdrawing from the NPT, but one year later,
on June 13 1994, it left the IAEA.
á
On October 21, 1994 PDRK and USA signed the agreement about stopping North
Koreans nuclear program in exchange for the deliveries of petroleum residue and
promise to build in the territory of the country two atomic light-water-cooled
reactors. However, created for building of Korean reactors international
consortium KEDO did not complete the building initiated.
á
On December 12, 2002 PDRK officially declared the renewal of its nuclear
program.
á
On January 10, 2003 PDRK officially left the NPT.
á
In 2003 six-party talks began.
á
On 10 February 2005 PDRK declared about the production of nuclear
weapons in the country.
á
North Korea conducted an underground nuclear explosive test on October
16, 2006
Because of the fact that North Korea left the NPT, the
IAEA worries about proliferation and military usage of nuclear power by PDRK.
ThatÕs why six-party talks have been taking place since 2003.
What are six-party
talks? It is the
name given to a series of meetings with six members: China, South Korea, North
Korea, the USA, Russia and Japan. The aim of these talks is to find a peaceful
resolution to the security concerns raised by the North Korean nuclear weapons
program. After five rounds of talks, little headway has been made disarming
North Korea.
The main points of contention are:
- Security
guarantee
- The
construction of light water reactors
- 'Peaceful'
use of nuclear energy
- Diplomatic
relations
- Financial
restrictions / Trade normalization
- 'Verifiable'
and 'Irreversible' disarmament
Timeline
|
Round |
Date |
Objectives |
|
1st round |
August 27 - 29, 2003 |
á
A
Chairman's Summary agreed upon for a further round of talks. á
No
agreement between parties made. |
|
2nd round |
Feb 25 - 28, 2004 |
á
A
Chairman's Statement announced with seven articles, including: o Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula o
Peaceful
Coexistence of Participating States, stressing the use of mutually
coordinated measures to resolve crises. á
Agreement
to hold the 3rd round of talks with full participation during the second
quarter of 2004. |
|
3rd round |
June 23 - 25, 2004 |
á
A
Chairman's Statement announced with eight articles, including: o
Reconfirming
the commitment to denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, stressing
specification of the scope and time, interval (between steps of) and method
of verification á
Agreement
to hold fourth round of talks in Beijing before September 2004 |
|
4th round, 1st phase |
July 26 - Aug 7,
2005 |
á
US and
DPRK cannot agree on 'peaceful' use of nuclear energy á
Three-week
recess of talks due to ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) meeting |
|
4th round, 2nd phase |
Sep 13 - 19, 2005 |
á
Agreement
on a Joint Declaration of six articles, including: o
Verifiable
denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula o
Observe
and realize the 1992 Korean Peninsula Denuclearization Declaration o
The DPRK
to agree to abandon all nuclear weapons and nuclear programs and return to
the NPT as soon as possible o
However,
the states still respect the DPRK's right to peaceful use of nuclear energy
as stated under the NPT o
The
issue of the light-water reactors will be discussed at a suitable time later o
The
United States and the ROK to formally declare that they have no nuclear
weapons on the Korean Peninsula o
The
United States will practice non-agression towards the DPRK o
The
United States will work to normalize ties with the DPRK and by respecting each
other's sovereignty, right to co-exist peacefully. o
Japan
will normalize relations with the DPRK through the Pyongyang Statement by
settling historical disputes. o
Promising
the DPRK it will receive economic cooperation and aid with energy through
strenghtening bilateral/multilateral economic cooperation in energy, trade
and investment. The five other members will serve as guarantors to this
condition o
The ROK
will channel two million kiloWatts of power to the DPRK. o
The
Korean Peninsula peace treaty to be negotiated separately. o
'Words
for words'; 'actions for actions' principle to be observed, stressing
'mutually coordinated measures'. á
Agreement
to hold fifth round of talks in early November, 2005. |
|
5th round, 1st phase |
Nov 9 - 11, 2005 |
|
|
5th round, 2nd phase |
postponed |
á
In April
2006, the DPRK offered to resume talks if the US releases recently frozen
DPRK financial assets held in a bank in Macau. * o
The US
treats the nuclear and financial issues as separate; the DPRK does not. |
As we
can see PDRK has already had some nuclear technologies. But there are many
countries that have no nuclear technologies but are interested in acquiring
them. These are:
á
In Europe: Italy,
Albania, Portugal, Norway, Poland, Belarus, Estonia, Latvia, Ireland, Turkey.
á
In the Middle
East and North Africa: Iran, Gulf States, Yemen, Israel, Syria, Jordan,
Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Algeria, and Morocco.
á
In central and
southern Africa: Nigeria, Ghana, Namibia.
á
In South America: Chile,
Venezuela.
á
In central and
southern Asia: Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Bangladesh.
á
In SE Asia: Indonesia,
Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand.
But
what are the reasons to develop their own nuclear technologies?
The main reasons
to develop nuclear technologies are:
á
The desire to have nuclear weapon arsenal for defense of the country.
á
Usage of nuclear weapons as a political tool
á
Usage of nuclear energy, which is more beneficial than use fossil fuels.
Objective III
Since
about 2001 there has been much talk about the Ònuclear renaissanceÓ, especially
about its risks and benefits.
Benefits and
risks of nuclear energy
|
Benefits |
Risks and disadvantages |
|
á
Nuclear fuels produce energy much longer period and in larger amounts
than fossil fuels or renewable sources of energy (Amount of energy produced
by 1 kg of uranium equal to amount of energy produced by 2 tones of coal). á
Nuclear power plants can be built in distant places, where non sources
of energy can be found. á
Nuclear power plants do not pollute air á
Nuclear technologies used in medicine á
Existing nuclear power plants are economically competitive |
á
It is very expensive to build new nuclear power plants. á
There are risks of nuclear accident and pollution of environment. But
in our times these risks are very small. á
There is a treat of nuclear technologies proliferation. á
Nuclear weapons are powerful destructive agency. Because of that the
terrorist treat is very high. |
So nuclear power is a serious
energy source, because the accidents and terrorism acts in the sphere of
nuclear energy can lead to sad consequences. In the history of nuclear energy
were two accidents.
Chernobyl and
Three Mile Island accidents
|
|
Chernobyl |
Three Mile Island |
|
Date
and place |
The
Chernobyl disaster occurred at 01:23 a.m. on April 26, 1986 at the Chernobyl
Nuclear Power Plant in Prypiat, Ukraine within the Soviet Union. |
The
accident occurred in the TMI-2 exactly 4:00 a.m. on March 28, 1979. |
|
Causes |
Flaws in the engineering design, which were compensated by a strict
set of procedures; failure of the plant management to enforce these
procedures; and finally the decision of the engineers to conduct a risky
experiment. They wanted to test whether the plant's turbine
generator—from its rotating inertia—could provide enough power to
the reactor in case of a power shutdown. This experiment required disconnecting
the reactor's emergency core cooling pump and other safety devices. |
a
series of malfunctions, mistakes, and misinterpretations led to the worst
nuclear accident the United States |
|
Consequences
|
Officially
31 persons were reported to have been killed at the reactor site by a
combination of the explosion and radiation
exposure; another 174 were exposed to high doses of radiation which
resulted in radiation sickness
and long-term illnesses. The maximum permissible dose of radiation for a
nuclear power operator is 5 roentgens per year and for the rest of the
population, 0.5 roentgens per year. At the Chernobyl plant, the levels of
radiation ranged from 1,000 to 20,000 roentgens per hour. One British report
estimates that worldwide, the number of persons afflicted with cancer which can be attributed to
the Chernobyl accident will be about 2,300. Others argued that the number
will be much higher. In Minsk, the rate of leukemia has more than doubled from 41 per million in 1985 to 93
per million in 1990. |
The
average radiation dose to people living within 10 miles of the plant was
eight millirem, and no more than 100 millirem to any single individual. |
[www.gourt.com,
www.bookrags.com]
www.answers.com
Comparing
the accidents in Chernobyl and Three Mile Island we can say that the Chernobyl
disaster is the largest civil nuclear catastrophe ever to have occurred. So the
new question appears: can we be sure in safety of our existence? Yes, we can,
because after these disasters new convention on nuclear safety was adopted.
|
The Convention on Nuclear
Safety |
|
|
When and where adopted |
In Vienna on 17 June 1994.
The Convention was drawn up during a series of expert level meetings from
1992 to 1994. |
|
Entered into force |
The Convention entered into
force on 24 October 1996 |
|
The essence |
The obligations of the
Parties are based to a large extent on the principles contained in the IAEA
Safety Fundamentals document "The Safety of Nuclear Installations".
These obligations cover for instance, siting, design, construction, operation
of nuclear facilities, the availability of adequate financial and human
resources, the assessment and verification of safety, quality assurance and
emergency preparedness. |
Another task of nuclear countries is the security of
nuclear facilities.
To
prevent weapons proliferation, safeguards on nuclear technology were published
in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and monitored since 1968 by the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Nations signing the treaty are
required to report to the IAEA what nuclear materials they hold and their
location. They agree to accept visits by IAEA auditors and inspectors to verify
independently their material reports and physically inspect the nuclear
materials concerned to confirm physical inventories of them in exchange for
access to nuclear materials and equipment on the global market.
In
February, 2006, a new U.S. initiative, the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership
was announced - it would be an international effort to reprocess fuel in a
manner making proliferation infeasible, while making nuclear power available to
developing countries.
ÒWe
recognized that proliferation
of weapons of mass destruction, along with international
terrorism, remains the central threat to international peace and security.
Therefore, the international community must firmly respond to that challenge
and take resolute actions to curb that threatÓ the government of Russia said. "Traditionally, safety of nuclear power generation
has been linked to nuclear and radiation safety and security. This means
ensuring physical safety of nuclear fuels and facilities and non-proliferation
of critical technologies.Ó Pulikovsky said. [www.kremlin.ru]
For discussion such questions as security and safety in Moscow the IAEA
International Conference on Effective Nuclear Regulatory Systems, ÒFacing
Safety and Security Challenges,Ó was held on February 28-March 2, 2006. [www.g8russia.ru]
The main goal is to
determine the role of the state and its departments in regulating nuclear and
radiation security. The conference paid special attention to regulators rights
in this sphere. It was the first conference to discuss "nuclear security
issues that state bodies face," Pulikovsky said. [www.kremlin.ru]
The competence of state regulators includes development of federal norms
and standards for nuclear energy use, work on federal laws and control over
their enforcement. They also monitor activities at nuclear facilities,
including through inspectors, license activities in the nuclear sphere and
check facilities' safety.
The
first key question discussed during
the conference was the management of
nuclear waste. A unique solid waste problem is spent fuel produced by nuclear
power. Highly radioactive spent fuel needs to be handled with great care and
forethought due to the long half-lives of the radioactive isotopes in the
waste. In fact, fresh spent fuel is so radioactive that less than a minute's
exposure to it will cause death. However, spent nuclear fuel becomes less
radioactive over time - after 40 years, the radiation flux is 99.9% lower than
it was the moment the reactor was last shut off, although still dangerously
radioactive.
The safe storage and disposal
of nuclear waste is a difficult challenge. Because of potential harm from
radiation, spent nuclear fuel must be stored in shielded basins of water, or in
dry storage vaults or dry cask storage until its radioactivity decreases
naturally ("decays") to safe levels. This can take days or thousands
of years, depending on the type of fuel. Most waste is currently stored in
temporary storage sites, requiring constant maintenance, while suitable permanent
disposal methods are discussed. Underground storage at Yucca Mountain in U.S.
has been proposed as permanent storage. See the article on the nuclear fuel
cycle for more information.
Nuclear
waste is not only source of radiation, but also can be used to produce nuclear
weapons. It means that the by-products of nuclear fission—the nuclear
waste generated by the plant—were to be unprotected it could be used as a
radiological weapon, colloquially known as a "dirty bomb". There have
been incidents of nuclear plant workers attempting to sell nuclear materials
for this purpose (for example, there was such an incident in Russia in 1999
where plant workers attempted to sell 5 grams of radioactive material on the
open market, and an incident in 1993 where Russian workers were caught
attempting to sell 4.5 kilograms of enriched uranium). The UN has since called
upon world leaders to improve security in order to prevent radioactive material
falling into the hands of terrorists, and such fears have been used as
justifications for centralized, permanent, and secure waste repositories and
increased security along transportation routes. [www.solarnavigator.net]
Except
the treat of radiation, environment pollution there is a treat of nuclear
terrorism connected with the vulnerability of nuclear power plants and theft of
nuclear materials.
In
the US, plants are surrounded by a double row of tall fences which are
electronically monitored. The plant grounds are patrolled by a sizeable force
of armed guards. The NRC's "Design Basis Threat" criteria for plants
are a secret, and so what size attacking force the plants are able to protect
against is unknown.
Attack
from the air is a more problematic concern. The most important barrier against
the release of radioactivity in the event of an aircraft strike is the
containment building and its missile shield.
In
addition, supporters point to large studies carried out by the US Electric
Power Research Institute that tested the robustness of both reactor and waste
fuel storage, and found that they should be able to sustain a terrorist attack
comparable to the September 11 terrorist attacks in the USA. Spent fuel is
usually housed inside the plant's "protected zone" or a spent nuclear
fuel shipping cask; stealing it for use in a "dirty bomb" is
extremely difficult. Exposure to the intense radiation would almost certainly
quickly incapacitate or kill any terrorists who attempt to do so.
Nuclear
power plants are designed to withstand threats deemed credible at the time of
licensing. However, as weapons evolve it cannot be said unequivocably that
within the 60 year life of a plant it will not become vulnerable. In addition,
the future status of storage sites may be in doubt. Other forms of energy
production are also vulnerable to attack, such as hydroelectric dams and LNG
tankers.
Conclusion
With
many benefits, nuclear energy brings many risks. In the early period of their
existence, nuclear technologies were very dangerous, however every new
technology is dangerous for the first time, but now nuclear power becomes the
main source of energy. But we should not forget that it can be used as a
nuclear weapon - a powerful weapon of mass destruction. ThatÕs why there are
organizations, laws, and multilateral treaties that can control the
proliferation of nuclear technologies and prevent the nuclear terrorism and
accidents.
Resources
á
www.answers.com