[ RadSafe ] U.N. chief urges "global re-think" on nuclear safety

[RRGWNYEnviro at aol.com]

_http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/19/us-nuclear-ban-chernobyl-idUSTRE7
3I3UQ20110419_ 
(http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/19/us-nuclear-ban-chernobyl-idUSTRE73I3UQ20110419) 





KIEV | Tue Apr 19, 2011 12:29pm  EDT 

KIEV (Reuters) - The nuclear disasters at  Chernobyl and Japan's Fukushima 
have shown the need for a "global re-think" on  nuclear energy, U.N. General 
Secretary Ban Ki-moon said on  Tuesday. 
Ban said the 1986 disaster in Ukraine and the threat to the Fukushima 
nuclear  plant following an earthquake and tsunami this year demonstrated that 
"nuclear  accidents respect no borders." 
"How can we ensure the peaceful use of nuclear energy and maximum safety? 
We  need a global re-think on this fundamental question," he told an 
international  conference in the Ukrainian capital Kiev marking 25 years since the 
world's  worst nuclear accident. 
Ban called for a "top-to-bottom" review of nuclear safety regulations and  
urged states to apply high standards of safety precautions, allow 
independent  oversight at plants and be more transparent to secure public  confidence. 
"Nuclear power plants must be built to withstand everything from 
earthquakes  to tsunamis, from fires to floods," he said, with the Fukushima crisis 
clearly  in mind. 
He called for efforts to strengthen the work of the International Atomic  
Energy Agency (IAEA) and use its capacity for sharing expertise and know-how 
on  nuclear safety issues. 
Ban endorsed the IAEA's convening of a ministerial conference on nuclear  
safety in June to draw lessons from Fukushima. 
In Vienna, a senior IAEA official said there were already intense  
preparations for the conference. "I don't know if you can call that 'global  
re-thinking' but I think there will be a lot of thinking at this June conference  
so that nuclear energy is safer," Denis Flory told a news conference. 
He said the IAEA was planning to send a team of international experts to 
_Japan_ (http://www.reuters.com/places/japan)  on a fact-finding mission  that 
would report back to the conference. The team would also suggest ways to  
improve the overall situation at the plant. 
Flory said the aim of the June conference was to strengthen the global  
nuclear safety framework. The IAEA, with 151 member nations, lacks the power to 
 enforce safety standards it recommends. 
Some diplomats have voiced concerns that countries seeking to start their  
first nuclear power programs might be loath to sign up to stricter rules. 
Very truly yours, 
M.Sato
RRG: Ryokan Route Gento (Grand Mali Park)
WNY: West Noga (area) Yokohama
Environment Monitoring