France Pushes for Tougher Nuclear Rules

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--France, the largest nuclear power nation in Europe, is calling for tougher nuclear laws to be implemented by every country in the world that uses nuclear energy.

French Prime Minister François Fillon is calling on the United Nation's nuclear body, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to extend the stress tests that all European nuclear reactors underwent in the last five months to the rest of the world. He also wants to spearhead the creation of an international emergency task force that will be capable of reacting rapidly to any nuclear emergency, regardless of location.

He will present his plan at the annual meeting of the IAEA next month. Speaking at a visit to Le Bugey nuclear power plant in France, Fillon said: "The international community must put together a rapid intervention system, with experts and specialised equipment to answer when need be any call from a country facing a nuclear accident."

A recent draft plan from the IAEA proposes something similar, in that countries with nuclear power stations should undergo at least one safety check a year. The plan is intended to make sure that global safety procedures are more robust, following the disaster in March at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power in Japan, which was crippled by a major earthquake and tsunami. However, the draft plan is expected to meet fierce resistance from some countries that want to retain full control over the security of their own nuclear resources.

The ongoing Fukushima disaster has been the biggest blow to nuclear power in Europe since the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. After almost 25 years, many countries that either banned or suspended nuclear power in the wake of Chernobyl were returning to the technology. However, Fukushima changed all of that. Notable casualties included Italy, Germany and Switzerland. In June, the Italian public voted 'No' for a return to nuclear power in a general referendum. It put an end to years of planning and development to build up to four, 1,600-megawatt (MW) plants. For additional information, see June 14, 2011, article - Italians Say 'No' to Nuclear Power Revival.

The most dramatic U-turn was experienced in Germany when the pro-nuclear government bowed to public pressure in May by announcing plans to shut all 17 of its reactors before 2022. Switzerland also has scrapped plans to build new nuclear plants and published a less rigorous exit timetable to shut down its five reactors by 2034. For additional information, see May 30, 2011, article - Germany Votes to Dump Nuclear Power and May 27, 2011, article - Switzerland Calls Time on Nuclear Power.

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