nuclear-news

Nuclear summit not likely to get very far on nuclear safety

Nuclear Summit Falls Short on Goal By, WSJ,  EVAN RAMSTAD, ASIA NEWS, March 26, 2012,   SEOUL—As 54 world leaders gathered Monday for a second summit on nuclear security, the seemingly uncontroversial goal they set at their first meeting two years ago—securing and reducing radioactive materials that can be turned into bombs—has turned out to be difficult to do.

Working-level discussions have bogged down over issues of national sovereignty, competing corporate interests, trade priorities and differing perceptions about the threat of nuclear terrorism.

Even with the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster in Japan last year serving to focus world attention on the danger nuclear materials can present, the negotiations on nuclear security have become as complicated as those over the global financial crisis and climate change.

As a result, the agreement that emerges when the Nuclear Security Summit concludes on Tuesday is likely to be smaller in scope and vision than hoped by officials in several countries, including the U.S., as well as informed observers……
Mr. Luongo’s group in recent months has urged nations to design a new level of international governance over nuclear-related matters and set hard deadlines for change, in part because a nuclear accident or terrorist act won’t simply affect one country.

“This summit and the last summit have almost exclusively focused on
the sovereign nature of nuclear security,” he said. “What Fukushima
proved is that radiation crises do not respect borders.”…..
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303816504577305471158594842.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

March 27, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized