Key Benefits:
DECREE NO 5,935, DE October 19, 2006.
Promulga the Joint Convention for the Safe Management of Nuclear Fuel Used and Radioactive Rejection.
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC, in the use of the attribution conferring you the art. 84, inciso IV, of the Constitution, and
Considering that the National Congress has approved the text of the Joint Convention for Management Spent Nuclear Fuel and Radioactive Rejection, celebrated in Vienna on September 5, 1997, through Legislative Decree no 1,019 of November 11, 2005 ;
Considering that the Brazilian Government ratified the said Convention on February 17, 2006 ;
Considering that the Convention entered into force for Brazil on May 18, 2006 ;
DECRETA:
Art. 1st Joint Convention for Safe Management of Nuclear Fuel Used and of the Radioactive Rejection, signed by the Brazilian Government on October 31, 1997, apses for copy to this Decree, will be executed and complied with as entirely as it contains.
Art. 2nd They are subject to approval by the National Congress any acts that may result in revision of the said Convention or entailing charges or written commitments to the national heritage, in the terms of art. 49, inciso I, of the Constitution.
Art. 3rd This Decree goes into effect on the date of its publication.
Brasilia, October 19, 2006 ; 185th of the Independence and 118th of the Republic.
LUIZ INACIO LULA DA SILVA
Celso Luiz Nunes Amorim
This text does not replace the published in the DOU of 10/20/2006
JOINT CONVENTION ON MANAGEMENT
FUEL INSURANCE NUCLEAR USADO
AND RADIOACTIVE REJECTION
Preamble
Chapter 1-Objectives, Definitions, and Field of Application
article 1: Objectives
article 2: Definitions
article 3: Field of Application
Chapter 2-Secure Management of Spent Nuclear Fuel
article 4: General Security Requirements
article 5: Existing Facilities
article 6: Location Choice for Proposed Facilities
article 7: Project and Construction of Installations
article 8: Safety Assessment of Installations
article 9: Operation of the facilities
article 10: Deposition of Nuclear Fuel Used
Chapter 3-Safe Management of Radioactive Rejectes
article 11: General Security Requirements
article 12: Existing Installations and Previous Practices
article 13: Location Choice for Proposed Facilities
article 14: Project and Construction of Installations
article 15: Safety Assessment of Installations
article 16: Operation of Installations
article 17: Institutional Measures after Closing
Chapter 4-General provisions on Security
article 18: Implementation Measures
Article 19: Legal and Regulatory Framework
Article 20: Regulatory Body
article 21: Liability of the Licensee
article 22: Human and Financial Resources
article 23: Quality Assurance
article 24: Operational Radiological Protection
article 25: Preparation for Emergency
article 26: Discommissioning
Chapter 5-General provisions
article 27: Cross-border Movement
article 28: Selded sources out of use
Chapter 6-Meetings of the Contracting Parties
article 29: Preparatory meeting
article 30: Revision meetings
article 31: Extraordinary Meetings
article 32: Report
article 33: Participation
article 34: Summarized Reports
article 35: Languages
article 36: Confidentiality
article 37: Secretariat
Chapter 7-Final Clauses and other provisions
article 38: Controversion Solution
article 39: Signature, ratification, Accepting, Approval and Accession
article 40: Entry in Vigor
article 41: Emendas to the Convention
article 42: Denver
article 43: Depository
article 44: Authentic Texts
Preamble
AS CONTRACTING PARTIES
i) Recognizing that the operation of nuclear reactors produces used nuclear fuel and rejected radioactive and that other applications of nuclear technologies also generate radioactive rejection ;
ii) Recognizing that the same security objectives apply both to the management of the nuclear fuel used as of radioactive rejection ;
iii) reaffirming the importance for the international community to ensure that appropriate practices are planned and implemented for the safe management of the spent nuclear fuel and radioactive rejection ;
iv) Recognizing the importance of informing the public about the issues regarding management safe from spent nuclear fuel and radioactive rejection ;
v) Wishing to promote worldwide an effective nuclear safety culture ;
vi) reaffirming that the maximum responsibility to ensure the security of the management of the spent nuclear fuel and radioactive rejection rests with the state ;
vii) Recognizing that the definition of a policy on the fuel cycle rests with the state, some States considering nuclear fuel used as a valid resource that can be reprocessed, others opting for their deposition ;
viii) Recognizing that the spent nuclear fuel and radioactive rejection excluded from the present Convention, for being within military or defense programs, must be managed in accordance with the objectives set out in this Convention ;
ix) Affirming the importance of international cooperation to enhance the secure management of nuclear fuel used and radioactive rejections by means of bilateral and multilateral mechanisms and by means of the incentive of this Convention ;
x) Cents of the needs of developing countries, in particular of countries less developed, and of the states with economies in transition and of the need to allow existing mechanisms to assist in the fulfilment of their rights and obligations set out in this Convention ;
xi) Convinced that radioactive rejection should, whenever compatible with the secure management of this material, be deposited in the State where they were generated, while acknowledging that, in certain circumstances, the safe and efficient management of used nuclear fuel and radioactive rejections can be fostered by means of agreements between the Contracting Parties for the rejection originate from joint projects ;
xii) Recognizing that any State shall have the right to prohibit the importation into its territory of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive rejection of foreign origin ;
xiii) Having in mind the Convention on Nuclear Safety (1994), the Convention on Ready Notification Nuclear Accident (1986), the Convention on Assistance in Case of Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency (1986), the Convention on Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (1980), the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Food of Rejection and Other Materials, amended (1994) and other relevant international instruments ;
xiv) Having in mind the principles contained in the " Basic International Standards of Security for Protection against Ionizing Radiation and the Safety of Radiation Sources "(1996), in the Fundamental Principles of IAEA Security entitled" The Principles of Radio Rejection Management " (1995) and existing international standards on the safety of the transport of radioactive materials ;
xv) Recording Chapter 22 of the 21 Agenda of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, adopted in 1992, which reaffirms the extreme importance of the safe and environmentally sound management of radioactive rejection ;
xvi) Recognizing the desire to strengthen the applicable international control system specifically to radioactive materials as referred to in Article 1 (3) of the Basel Convention on the Control of the Cross-border Movement of Dangerous Rejections and its Depot (1989) ;
AGREED THE FOLLOWING:
CHAPTER 1-OBJECTIVES, DEFINITIONS AND FIELD OF APPLICATION
ARTICLE 1. OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this Convention are:
i) Alcancer and maintain a high level of global security in the management of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive rejection, by means of the increment of national and international cooperation measures, including where appropriate, technical cooperation related to security ;
ii) Ensure that during all stages of the management of the spent nuclear fuel and of the radioactive discharges there is effective protection against potential risks, so that individuals, society and the environment are protected from the harmful effects of ionizing radiation, now and in the future, in such a way that the needs and aspirations of the present generation are met without compromisation of the ability of future generations to meet their needs and aspirations ;
iii) Prevent accidents with radiological consequences and mitigate their consequences, if they occur during any stage of the management of the spent nuclear fuel and radioactive rejection.
ARTICLE 2. DEFINITIONS
For the purposes of this Convention:
(a) "closure" means the finalization of all operations in a certain time after the placement of the nuclear fuel used or of radioactive rejection in a deposit facility. This includes the final engineering or other work required to place the installation under long-term safety conditions ;
(b) "decommissioning" means all steps intended for the release of a nuclear installation, except for a deposit facility, from regulatory control. These steps include decontamination and dismantling processes ;
(c) "discharges" means planned release and controlled in the environment, as a practice legitimized, within the limits authorized by the regulatory body, of liquid or gaseous radioactive materials that originate from nuclear installations during normal operation ;
(d) "deposition" means the placement of the spent nuclear fuel or radioactive rejection in a appropriate installation without the intent of recovery ;
(e) "licence" means any authorization, permission or certification exclaimed by an organ regulatory to perform any activity concerning the management of the spent nuclear fuel or radioactive rejection ;
(f) "nuclear installation" means a civilian facility and its terrain, buildings and equipment associates, in which radioactive materials are produced, processed, employed, handled, stored or deposited in such a volume that requires security considerations ;
(g) "operation useful life" means the period during which an installation for management of used nuclear fuel or radioactive rejection is used for the intended purpose. In the case of a deposit facility, the period begins when spent nuclear fuel or radioactive rejection are placed for the first time at the installation and ends when the installation closes ;
(h) "radioactive reaction" means radioactive material in gaseous, liquid or solid state for the which no other use is provided by the Contracting Party or by physical or legal person whose decision is accepted by the Contracting Party, and which is controlled as radioactive resuscitation by a regulatory body under the legislative and regulatory égide of the Party Contractor ;
(i) "management of radioactive rejection" means all activities, including from decommissioning, concerning the handling, pre-treatment, treatment, conditioning, storage or deposition of radioactive rejection, excluding transportation out of the facility, and may also involve discharges ;
(j) "installation for radioactive rejection management" means any installation whose primary purpose is the management of radioactive rejection, including a nuclear installation in decommissioning process only if it is designated by the Contracting Party as an installation for radioactive rejection management ;
(k) "regulatory body" means any organ or organs with legal authority outorga by the Part Contractor to regulate any aspect of safe management of spent nuclear fuel or radioactive rejections, including the dispatch of licences ;
(l) "reprocessing" means a process or operation for the purpose of extrair isotopes nuclear fuel radioactive fuel used for later uses ;
(m) "sealed source" means radioactive material that is permanently sealed in capsule or lacquered and in solid form, excluding reactor fuel elements ;
(n) "nuclear fuel used" means nuclear fuel that was used in the reactor and removed in definitive character of the core of the reactor ;
(o) "management of used nuclear fuel" means all activities related to handling or storage of spent nuclear fuel, excluding transportation outside the facility, and may also involve discharges ;
(p) "used nuclear fuel management facility" means any installation with the primary purpose of managing spent nuclear fuel ;
(q) "State of destination" means a state for which a cross-border movement is planned or executed ;
(r) "State of origin" means a state from which a cross-border movement is planned for be started or is started ;
(s) "State of transit" means any state, another other than a State of origin or a State of destination, by whose territory a cross-border movement is planned or executed ;
(t) "storage" means the nuclear fuel guard used or of radioactive rejection in a installation that provides for its containment, with the intention of retrieving it ;
(u) "cross-border movement" means any transportation of spent nuclear fuel or radioactive rejection of a state of origin for a state of destination.
ARTICLE 3. FIELD OF APPLICATION
1. This Convention will be applied to the safe management of nuclear fuel used when the nuclear fuel used results from the operation of civilian nuclear reactors. Used nuclear fuel held in reprocessing facility as part of a reprocessing activity is not covered by the scope of this Convention, unless the Contracting Party declares reprocessing as part of the management of the nuclear fuel used.
2. This Convention will also be applied to the safe management of radioactive rejections when these radioactive rejections result from civilian applications. In the meantime, this Convention will not be applied to rejections containing only radioactive materials in a natural state and that have not originated from the nuclear fuel cycle unless they constitute an out-of-use sealed source or are declared as radioactive rejections for the purposes of this Convention by the Contracting Party.
3. This Convention will not be applied for the safe management of spent nuclear fuel or radioactive rejection within military or defense programs, except whether declared as used nuclear fuel or radioactive rejections for the purposes of this Convention by the Contracting Party. In the meantime, this Convention will be applied to the safe management of used nuclear fuel and radioactive rejections of military or defense programs if and when such materials are transferred permanently and managed within programs exclusively civilians.
4. This Convention will also be applied to discharges, as stipulated in Articles 4, 7, 11, 14, 24 and 26.
CHAPTER 2-SECURE MANAGEMENT
DO FUEL NUCLEAR USADO
ARTICLE 4. GENERAL SECURITY REQUIREMENTS
Each Contracting Party shall take the appropriate measures to ensure that at all stages of the used nuclear fuel management, individuals, society and the environment are adequately protected from radiological risks.
Thus, each Contracting Party will take the appropriate measures to:
i) ensure that the criticality and removal of the residual heat generated during the management of the nuclear fuel used are properly considered ;
ii) to ensure that the generation of radioactive disorder associated with fuel management used nuclear is kept to the minimum practicable, consistent with the type of the policy adopted for the fuel cycle ;
iii) take into consideration interdependencies between the different steps of managing the nuclear fuel used ;
iv) to provide effective protection to individuals, society and the environment, with application at level national of appropriate protection methods, as approved by the regulatory body, in the context of its national legislation, which takes due account of internationally accepted standards and criteria ;
v) to take into consideration biological, chemical and other risks that may be associated with management of the spent nuclear fuel ;
vi) strive to avoid actions that impose reasonably foreseeable impacts on future ones larger generations that allowed them for the present generation ;
vii) aim to prevent undue burden on future generations.
ARTICLE 5. EXISTING FACILITIES
Each Contracting Party shall take appropriate measures to review the security of any installation of nuclear fuel management used at the time when the Convention enters into force for that Contracting Party and ensure that, if necessary, all reasonably feasible improvements are made to elevate the security of such facility.
ARTICLE 6. CHOICE OF THE LOCAL FOR PROPOSED FACILITIES
1. Each Contracting Party will take appropriate measures to ensure that procedures for a proposed nuclear fuel management facility are established and implemented for:
i) evaluate all pertinent factors concerning the proposed location in place of affecting safety of such an installation during its useful life of operation ;
ii) assess the possible safety impacts of such an installation on individuals, society and a half environment ;
iii) to leave available information on the security of such facility to members of the public ;
iv) consult Contracting Parties in the vicinity of such an installation, to the extent that such Parties may be affected by that installation, and provide them, at the request of them, general data regarding the installation to enable them to assess the possible security impacts of the installation on their territories.
2. Thus acting, each Contracting Party shall take appropriate measures to ensure that such facilities will not have unacceptable effects on the other Contracting Parties for having been located in accordance with the general safety requirements provided for in Article 4.
ARTICLE 7. PROJECT AND CONSTRUCTION OF FACILITIES
Each Contracting Party shall take appropriate measures to ensure that:
i) the project and installation construction for used nuclear fuel management predict appropriate measures to limit possible radiological impacts on individuals, society, and the environment, including those arising from discharges or uncontrolled clearances ;
ii) in the project phase, conceptual plans and, if necessary, technical provisions for the decommissioning of an installation for use of used nuclear fuel management are taken into account ;
iii) the technologies embedded in the design and construction of an installation for management of used nuclear fuel are approved by experience, tests and analyses.
ARTICLE 8. SAFETY ASSESSMENT OF FACILITIES
Each Contracting Party shall take appropriate measures to ensure that:
i) prior to the construction of an installation for used nuclear fuel management, proceed to a systematic safety assessment and an appropriate environmental assessment to the risks presented by the installation and covering their useful life of operation ;
ii) prior to the operation of a used nuclear fuel management facility, versions updated and detailed safety assessment and environmental assessment have been prepared in the event necessary to supplement the assessments referred to in paragraph (i).
ARTICLE 9. OPERATION OF FACILITIES
Each Contracting Party shall take appropriate measures to ensure that:
i) the license to operate a used nuclear fuel management facility is based on appropriate assessments, as provided for in Article 8, and is conditional upon the termination of a demostrating commissioning program that the installation, as built, is in accordance with the design and security requirements ;
ii) operational limits and conditions arising from the tests, operational experience and assessments, as provided for in Article 8, be defined and reviewed when necessary ;
iii) operation, maintenance, monitoring, inspection and testing of an installation for management of used nuclear fuel are conducted in accordance with established routines ;
iv) engineering and technical support from all fields concerning security are available during the useful life of operation of an installation for used nuclear fuel management ;
v) relevant incidents for security are reported fearsome by the licence holder to the regulatory body ;
vi) programs to collect and analyze the relevant operational experience are established, and your results are object of action, where appropriate ;
vii) decommissioning plans for a used nuclear fuel management facility are prepared and updated, as required, using information obtained during the installation's useful life of operation, and be reviewed by the regulatory body.
ARTICLE 10. DEPOSITION OF FUEL NUCLEAR USADO
If, in accordance with its own legislative and regulatory structure, the Contracting Party determines the final deposition of the spent nuclear fuel, the deposition of such used nuclear fuel should be in accordance with Chapter 3 obligations concerning the deposition of radioactive dispenser.
CHAPTER 3-SAFE MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE REJECTION
ARTICLE 11. GENERAL SECURITY REQUIREMENTS
Each Contracting Party will take appropriate measures to ensure that in all steps of the management of radioactive rejection individuals, society and the environment are adequately protected against radiological risks and other risks.
Thus, each Contracting Party will take the appropriate measures to:
i) ensure that the criticality and removal of the residual heat generated during the management of the radioactive rejection are properly considered ;
ii) ensure that the generation of radioactive rejection is kept to a minimum of faction ;
iii) take into consideration interdependencies between the different steps of the management of rejections radioactive ;
iv) to provide the effective protection of individuals, society and the environment by application in national level of appropriate protection methods, as approved by the regulatory body, in the context of its national legislation, which takes due consideration internationally accepted standards and criteria ;
v) to take into consideration biological, chemical and other risks that may be associated with management of radioactive rejection ;
vi) strive to avoid actions that impose reasonably foreseeable impacts on future ones larger generations that allowed them for the present generation ;
vii) aim to prevent undue burden on future generations.
ARTICLE 12. EXISTING FACILITIES AND PREVIOUS PRACTICES
Each Contracting Party shall, in due time, take appropriate measures to review:
i) the security of any installation for the management of existing radioactive rejection to the time for the Convention to enter into force for that Contracting Party and to ensure that, if necessary, all reasonably feasible improvements are made to raise the security of the said installation ;
ii) the results of past practices in order to determine whether any intervention is required by radiological protection reasons, reminding that the reduction at the expense resulting from the reduction in dose should be sufficient to justify the risk and costs, including social costs, of the intervention.
ARTICLE 13. CHOICE OF LOCAL FOR PROPOSED FACILITIES
1. Each Contracting Party shall take appropriate measures to ensure that procedures are established and implemented for a proposed installation of radioactive rejection management to:
i) evaluate all pertinent factors concerning the proposed location in place of affecting safety of such installation during its useful life of operation as also those of a deposit facility after the closure ;
ii) to assess the possible security impact of such installation on individuals, society and a half environment, taking into account the possible evolution of the conditions of the location of the deposit facilities after the closure ;
iii) make available to members of the public information about the safety of such an installation ;
iv) consult Contracting Parties in the vicinity of such an installation, to the extent that such Parties may be affected by that installation, and provide them, at the request of them, general data regarding the installation to enable them to assess the possible security impacts of the installation on their territories.
2. Accordingly, each Contracting Party shall take appropriate measures to ensure that such facilities will not have unacceptable effects on the other Contracting Parties for being located in accordance with the general safety requirements provided for in Article 11.
ARTICLE 14. PROJECT AND CONSTRUCTION OF FACILITIES
Each Contracting Party shall take appropriate measures to ensure that:
i) the project and the construction of facilities for radioactive rejection management predict appropriate measures to limit possible radiological impacts on individuals, society and the environment, including those of discharges and uncontrolled clearances ;
ii) in the project phase, conceptual plans and, where necessary, technical provisions for the decommissioning of an installation for management of radioactive rejection, except in the case of a deposit facility, be taken into consideration ;
iii) in the project phase, technical provisions for the closure of a deposit facility are prepared ;
iv) the technologies embedded in the project and construction of a management facility of radioactive rejection are approved by experience, testing, or analysis.
ARTICLE 15. SAFETY EVALUATION OF FACILITIES
Each Contracting Party shall take appropriate measures to ensure that:
i) prior to the construction of an installation for radioactive rejection management, be performed a systematic safety assessment and an appropriate environmental assessment for the risks presented by the facility and covering their useful life of operation ;
ii) in addition, prior to the construction of a deposit facility, an assessment is carried out security systematic and an environmental assessment for the period after the closure, and the results assessed by the criteria set by the regulatory body ;
iii) prior to the operation of an installation for management of radioactive rejections, versions updated and detailed safety evaluation and environmental assessment are prepared whenever necessary to supplement the assessments referred to in paragraph (i).
ARTICLE 16. OPERATION OF FACILITIES
Each Contracting Party shall take appropriate measures to ensure that:
i) the license to operate an installation for the management of radioactive rejection is based in appropriate assessments as specified in Article 15 and are conditional upon the completion of a commissioning program demonstrating that the installation, as built, is in accordance with project and security requirements ;
ii) limits and operational conditions, arising from the tests, operational experience and the assessments provided for in Article 15 are defined and reviewed, where necessary ;
iii) operation, maintenance, monitoring, inspection and testing of an installation for management of radioactive rejection be conducted in accordance with the established procedures. For a deposit installation, the results then obtained are used to verify and review the validity of the projections made and to update the assessments provided for in Article 15, in the period after the closing ;
iv) engineering and technical support in all fields relative to safety are available during the useful life of operation of an installation for radioactive rejection management ;
v) procedures for characterization and segregation of radioactive rejection are applied ;
vi) incidents relevant to security are informed themally by the licensee to the organ regulatory ;
vii) programs to collect and analyze pertinent operational experience be established and the their results are harnished, where couber ;
viii) decommissioning plans of an installation for management of radioactive dispension, except for a deposit facility, be prepared and updated, when necessary, using information obtained during the operating life of that facility, and be reviewed by the regulatory body ;
ix) plans for the closure of a deposit facility be prepared and updated, when necessary, using information obtained during the operation lifetime of that installation and be reviewed by the regulatory body.
ARTICLE 17. INSTITUTIONAL MEASURES AFTER THE CLOSE
Each Contracting Party shall take appropriate measures to ensure that after the closing of a installation of deposit:
i) the location, project, and inventory records of that installation required by the organ regulatory are preserved ;
ii) active or passive institutional controls such as monitoring or restrictions of access are instituted, if required ; and
iii) and, during any period of active institutional control, an unplanned release of radioactive materials in the environment is detected, intervention measures are implemented, if necessary.
CHAPTER 4-GENERAL PROVISIONS ON SAFETY
ARTICLE 18. IMPLEMENTATION MEASURES
Each Contracting Party shall take, in the context of its national legislation, the legal measures, regulatory and administrative and other necessary to implement the obligations under this Convention.
ARTICLE 19. LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY STRUCTURE
1. Each Contracting Party shall establish and maintain a legal and regulatory framework for governing the safe management of used nuclear fuel and radioactive dismissal.
2. This legal and regulatory framework will have about:
i) the establishment of national security requirements and radiological safety regulations applicable ;
ii) a licensing system for used nuclear fuel management activities and radioactive rejection ;
iii) a system of prohibition of operation of a nuclear fuel management facility used or radioactive rejection without a license ;
iv) a system of institutional control, inspection and regulatory documentation and reports appropriate ;
v) the requirement to comply with the applicable regulations and the terms of the licences ;
vi) a clear allocation of responsibilities of the organs involved in the different steps of the management of used nuclear fuel and radioactive rejection ;
3. When considering whether radioactive materials are to be treated as radioactive rejections, the Contracting Parties shall take due account of the objectives of this Convention.
ARTICLE 20. REGULATORY BODY
1. Each Contracting Party shall establish or designate a regulatory body tasked with implementing the legal and regulatory framework referred to in Article 19 and endowed with the appropriate authority, competence and financial and human resources to comply with the responsibilities to him assigned.
2. Each Contracting Party, in accordance with its legal and regulatory framework, will take appropriate measures to ensure the effective independence of the regulatory functions of other functions where organizations are involved in both management of the nuclear fuel used or of radioactive rejection as in its regulation.
ARTICLE 21. THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE LICENSEE
1. Each Contracting Party shall ensure that the first responsibility for the safe management of the spent nuclear fuel and radioactive rejection shall be the holder of the respective licence and shall take appropriate measures to ensure that each holder of such a license comply with your responsibility.
2. If there is no holder of such a licence or other responsible party, the responsibility rests with the Contracting Party that has jurisdiction over the spent nuclear fuel or on the radioactive dispenser.
ARTICLE 22. HUMAN AND FINANCIAL RESOURCES
Each Contracting Party shall take appropriate measures to ensure that:
i) qualified personnel for security-related activities are available during the useful life of operation of an installation for used nuclear fuel management and radioactive rejection ;
ii) adequate financial resources to support the security of the facilities for the management of used nuclear fuel and radioactive rejection are available during their respective useful life of operation and decommissioning ;
iii) financial provision is made so as to allow the appropriate institutional controls and monitoring arrangements are continued in the period considered necessary after the closure of a deposit facility.
ARTICLE 23. QUALITY ASSURANCE
Each Contracting Party shall take appropriate measures to ensure that they are established and implemented appropriate quality assurance programs regarding the safe management of used nuclear fuel and radioactive rejection.
ARTICLE 24. OPERATIONAL RADIOLOGICAL PROTECTION
1. Each Contracting Party shall take appropriate measures to ensure, during the operating life of an operation of a used nuclear fuel management facility or radioactive dismissal, that:
i) the level of exposure to the radiation of workers and the public caused by the installation is kept as low as reasonably viable, taking into account economic and social factors ;
ii) no individual is exposed, in normal situations, to doses of radiation exceeding the national prescriptions for dose limits, which should have due consideration internationally accepted standards on radiological protection ;
iii) measures are taken to prevent unplanned and uncontrolled releases of materials radioactive in the environment.
2. Each Contracting Party shall take appropriate measures to ensure that discharges are limited:
i) to maintain exposure to radiation as low as reasonably feasible, taking into account factors economics and social ;
ii) so that no individual is exposed, in normal situations, to doses of radiation that exceed national prescriptions for dose limits, which should have due consideration internationally accepted standards on radiological protection ;
3. Each Contracting Party shall take appropriate measures to ensure that during the useful life of operation of a licensed nuclear facility, in the event an unplanned or uncontrolled release of radioactive materials occurs in the medium environment, appropriate corrective measures are implemented to control the release and mitigate their effects.
ARTICLE 25. PREPARATION FOR EMERGENCY
1. Each Contracting Party shall ensure that, before and during the operation of an installation for the management of spent nuclear fuel or radioactive rejection, there will be appropriate emergency plans at the facility's site and, if necessary, outside the installation location. Such emergency plans must be tested with appropriate frequency.
2. Each Contracting Party shall take appropriate measures for the preparation and testing of the emergency plans for its territory to the extent that it is possibly affected in the hypothesis of a radiological emergency in a management facility of nuclear fuel used or radioactive rejection in the vicinity of its territory.
ARTICLE 26. DECOMMISSIONING
Each Contracting Party shall take appropriate measures to ensure the safety of decommissioning of a nuclear facility. Such measures must ensure that:
i) there is availability of qualified personnel and adequate financial resources ;
ii) the provisions of Article 24 with respect to operational radiological protection are observed, discharges and unplanned and uncontrolled releases ;
iii) the provisions of Article 25 with respect to preparation for emergencies are observed ; and
iv) are kept records of important information for the decommissioning.
CHAPTER 5-GENERAL PROVISIONS
ARTICLE 27. CROSS-BORDER MOVEMENT
1. Each Contracting Party engaged in cross-border movement shall take appropriate measures to ensure that such a move is practiced in a manner consistent with the provisions of this Convention and international legal instruments pertinent.
Thus being:
i) a Contracting Party that is a State of origin shall take appropriate measures to ensure that the cross-border movement is authorized and occurs only with the notification and prior annuity of the target State ;
ii) cross-border movements through transit states will be subject to obligations international pertinent to the transport modality used ;
iii) a Contracting Party that is State of destination will give annuence to cross-border movement only if you have technical and administrative capacity, as well as regulatory structure, necessary to manage the spent nuclear fuel or radioactive dismissal in a manner consistent with this Convention ;
iv) a Contracting Party that is State of origin shall authorize a cross-border movement only if you consider satisfactory, in accordance with the consent of the state of destination, that the requirements of the subparagraph (iii) are met in advance to the cross-border movement ;
v) a Contracting Party that is a State of origin shall take appropriate measures to enable the rejoined on its territory, if a cross-border movement is not or cannot be completed, in accordance with this Article, except if an alternative safe arrangement can be made.
2. A Contracting Party will not license the transportation of its used nuclear fuel or radioactive rejection to a destination located south of latitude of 60 degrees South for storage or deposition.
3. Nothing in this Convention will harm or affect:
i) the exercise, by vessels and aircraft of all States, of the rights and freedoms of maritime, river and air navigation in accordance with international law ;
ii) the rights of a Contracting Party for which radioactive rejection is exported for purposes of processing for return or prediction of return to the State of origin, of radioactive rejection and other products after benefit ;
iii) the right of a Contracting Party to export its nuclear fuel used for the purposes of reprocessing ;
iv) the rights of a Contracting Party, for which used nuclear fuel to be exported to purposes of reprocessing and return or return prediction for the State of origin, of radioactive rejections and other products resulting from reprocessing operations.
ARTICLE 28. SEALED SOURCES OUT OF USE
1. Each Contracting Party shall, in the context of its national legislation, take appropriate measures to ensure that the possession, reuse or deposition of out-of-use sealed sources occurs in a safe manner.
2. A Contracting Party will allow the re-entry into its territory of out-of-use sealed sources if, in the context of its national legislation, the Contracting Party has accepted that these sources be returned to a qualified manufacturer to receive and have possession of sealed sources out of use.
CHAPTER 6-MEETINGS OF THE CONTRACTING PARTIES
ARTICLE 29. PREPARATORY MEETING
1. A preparatory meeting of the Contracting Parties shall be held within a period of up to six months after the date of entry into force of this Convention.
2. In this meeting, the Contracting Parties shall:
i) determine the date of the first review meeting, as referred to in Article 30. This review meeting will be held as soon as possible, but within the period of up to thirty months after the date of the entry into force of this Convention ;
ii) to prepare and adopt by consensus Rules of Procedures and Financial Rules ;
iii) establish, in particular, and in accordance with the Rules of Procedure:
a) guidelines with respect to the form and structure of the national reports to be submitted accordingly with Article 32 ;
b) the date of submission of these reports ;
c) the process for reviewing these reports.
3. Any State or regional organization of integration or other nature that ratifying, accepting, approving, acceding, or confirming this Convention and for which this Convention is not yet in force, may participate in the preparatory meeting, as if was Party to this Convention
ARTICLE 30. REVIEW MEETINGS
1. The Contracting Parties shall hold meetings for the purpose of reviewing the reports submitted in accordance with Article 32.
2. At each review meeting, the Contracting Parties:
i) shall determine the date of the following meeting, with the interval between the review meetings should not exceed three years ;
ii) will be able to review the arrangements established in accordance with paragraph 2º of Article 29, and adopt revisions by consensus, unless otherwise disposed of in the Rules of Procedure ; they may also amend the Rules of Procedure and Financial Rules by consensus.
3. At each review meeting each Contracting Party will have a reasonable opportunity to discuss the reports submitted by other Contracting Parties and seek clarification on such reports.
ARTICLE 31. EXTRAORDINARY MEETINGS
An extraordinary meeting of the Contracting Parties will occur:
i) if agreed upon by a majority of the Contracting Parties present and voting in a meeting ; or
ii) on written request of a Contracting Party, within six months counted from the date on that such request has been communicated to the Contracting Parties and that it has been received by the secretariat the notification referred to in Article 37 that the application has been supported by the majority of the Contracting Parties.
ARTICLE 32. REPORT
1. In accordance with the provisions of Article 30, each Contracting Party shall submit a national report for each review meeting of the Contracting Parties. This report should address the measures taken to implement each of the obligations of the Convention. For each Contractor Party the report should also address:
i) the policy of nuclear fuel management used ;
ii) the nuclear fuel management practices used ;
iii) the policy of management of radioactive rejection ;
iv) the practices of management of radioactive rejection ;
v) the criteria used to define and categorize radioactive dismissal.
2. This report should also include:
i) a list of facilities for nuclear fuel management used subject to this Convention, its locations, principal purpose and essential characteristics ;
ii) an inventory of the spent nuclear fuel that is subject to this Convention being held in storage and which has been deposed. Such an inventory should contain a description of the material and, if available, give information on its mass and its total activity ;
iii) a list of radioactive rejection management facilities subject to this Convention, their locations, main purpose and essential characteristics ;
iv) an inventory of radioactive rejections that are subject to this Convention that:
a) have been kept in storage in radioactive disorder management facilities and the nuclear fuel cycle ;
b) have been deposed ; or
c) have resulted from past practices.
This inventory should contain the description of the material and other appropriate information available, such as volume or mass, activity and specific radionuclides ;
v) a list of nuclear facilities in the process of decommissioning and the situation of activities of decommissioning in those facilities.
ARTICLE 33. COMPARECE
1. Each Contracting Party shall meet the meetings of the Contracting Parties and shall be represented at such meetings by a delegate, and by so many alternates, experts and advisors who understand it necessary.
2. The Contracting Parties may invite, by consensus, any intergovernmental organization that has competence with respect to the matters governed by this Convention, to attend, as an observer, to any specific meeting or sessions of the meetings. Observers should be required to accept, in writing and in advance, the provisions of Article 36.
ARTICLE 34. SUMMARIZED REPORTS
The Contracting Parties shall adopt, by consensus, and place at the disposal of the public, a document addressing the topics discussed and the conclusions reached during meetings of the Contracting Parties.
ARTICLE 35. LANGUAGES
1. The languages of the meetings of the Contracting Parties shall be Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, French, English and Russian, except otherwise disposed of in the Rules of Procedure.
2. Reports submitted in accordance with Article 32 shall be prepared in the national language of the Contracting Party or in a single language to be designated by the Rules of Procedure. Should the report be submitted in a national language other than the designated language, a translation of the report into the designated language should be provided by the Contracting Party.
3. Notwithstanding the provisions of the 2nd paragraph, the secretariat, if compensated, will take over the translation of the reports submitted in any other language of the meeting to the designated language.
ARTICLE 36. CONFIDENTIALITY
1. The provisions of this Convention shall not affect the rights and obligations of the Contracting Parties under the respective laws of protection of information. For the purposes of this Article, "information" includes, inter alia, information concerning the national security or physical protection of nuclear materials, information protected by intellectual property rights or by industrial confidentiality or commercial, and personal data.
2. When, in the context of this Convention, a Contracting Party provides information by it identified as protected, as described in paragraph 1st, such information will be used only for the purposes for which it was provided and its confidentiality should be respected.
3. With respect to information on nuclear fuel used or radioactive rejections pertinent to the scope of this Convention, pursuant to paragraph 3rd Article 3, the provisions of this Convention shall not affect the exclusive right of the Contracting Party to in question to decide:
i) whether such information is confidential or subject to control that prevents its disclosure ;
ii) whether it will provide the information referred to in the subparagraph (i) above in the context of the Convention ; and
iii) what conditions of confidentiality are aggregated to such information, should the same be provided in the context of this Conventi
4. The content of the debates during the review of the national reports of each review meeting held in accordance with Article 30 will be confidential.
ARTICLE 37. SECRETARIAT
1. The International Atomic Energy Agency, (hereafter referred to as "the Agency") will provide the secretariat for the meetings of the Contracting Parties.
2. The secretariat should:
i) convene, prepare and serve the meetings of the Contracting Parties, referred to in Articles 29, 30 and 31 ;
ii) to transmit to the Contracting Parties information received or prepared in accordance with the provisions this Convention
The costs incurred by the Agency for the performance of the functions referred to in the subparagraph (i) and (ii) above will be taken over by the Agency as part of their regular budget.
3. The Contracting Parties may, by consensus, request the Agency to provide other services in support of the meetings of the Contracting Parties. The Agency will be able to provide such services if they can be carried out within its regular programme and budget. Should this not be possible, the Agency will be able to provide such services if volunteer resources are obtained from another source.
CHAPTER 7-FINAL CLAUSES AND OTHER PROVISIONS
ARTICLE 38. SOLUTION OF CONTROVERSIES
In the event of disagreement between two or more Contracting Parties with respect to interpretation or implementation of this Convention, the Contracting Parties shall hold consultations within the framework of a meeting of the Contracting Parties with a view to resolving the disagreement. Should the consultations prove to be unproductive, it can be used to the mechanisms of mediation, conciliation and arbitration, provided for in international law, including the rules and practices prevailing in the Agency.
ARTICLE 39. SIGNING, RATIFICATION, ACCEPTANCE, APPROVAL AND MEMBERSHIP
1. This Convention will be open for signature by all States at the Agency's headquarters in Vienna on September 29, 1997, until its entry into force.
2. This Convention is subject to ratification, acceptance or approval by signatory States
3. After its entry into force, this Convention will be open for membership by all States.
4. i) This Convention shall be open for signature subject to confirmation, or access by regional organizations of integration or of other nature, provided that such an organization consists of sovereign States and has competence with respect to the negotiation, conclusion and application of international agreements in matters dealt with by
ii) In matters of their competence, such organizations shall exercise in their own name the rights and comply with the responsibilities that this Convention attaches to States Parties.
(iii) In becoming a Party to this Convention, such an organization shall present to the Depositary, referred to in the article 43, a declaration indicating which states are its members, which Articles of this Convention are applicable to it and what extent of its competence in the field covered by these articles.
iv) Such an organization will have no vote beyond those of its member states.
5. Instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval, accession or confirmation shall be deposited with the Depositary.
ARTICLE 40. ENTRY INTO VIGOR
1. This Convention shall enter into force on the ninetieth day after the date of deposit with the Depositary of the twenty-fifth instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval, including the instruments of fifteen States having nuclear power operation
2. For each State or regional organization of integration or other nature that ratifying, accepting, approving, acceding, or confirming this Convention after the date of filing of the last instrument necessary to meet the conditions set forth in the paragraph 1, this Convention shall enter into force on the ninth day after the date of deposit, together with the Depositary, of the appropriate instrument, by such State or organization.
ARTICLE 41. AMENDMENTS TO THE CONVENTION
1. Any Contracting Party may propose amendments to this Convention. Proposals for amendments will be considered in a review meeting or in an extraordinary meeting.
2. The text of any proposed amendment and the reasons for it should be provided to the Depositary, which shall communicate the proposal to the Contracting Parties at least ninety days before the meeting to which it will be submitted for consideration. Any comments received on the proposal should be circulated by the Depositary to the Contracting Parties.
3. The Contracting Parties shall decide, after consideration of the amendment proposal, whether this shall be adopted by consensus or, in the absence of consensus, whether to be submitted to a Diplomatic Conference. The decision to submit a proposal for amendment to a Diplomatic Conference shall demand the vote of a two-thirds majority of the Contracting Parties present and voting at the meeting, provided that at least half of the Contracting Parties are present at the time of voting.
4. The Diplomatic Conference to consider and adopt amendments to this Convention is to be convened by the Depositary and held in the maximum period of one year after the respective decision has been taken, in accordance with paragraph 3 of this Article. The Diplomatic Conference will make every effort to ensure that the amendments are adopted by consensus. Should this not be possible, the amendments shall be adopted by a two-thirds majority of all the Contracting Parties.
5. Amendments to this Convention adopted in accordance with paragraph 3 and 4 above shall be subject to ratification, acceptance, approval or confirmation by the Contracting Parties, and shall enter into force for those Contracting Parties which have ratified them, accepted, approved or confirmed, on the ninth day after receipt by the Depositary of the relevant instruments by at least two thirds of the Contracting Parties. For the Contracting Party that subsequently ratifying, accepting, approving, or confirming the amendments in appreciation, such amendments shall enter into force on the ninetieth day after that Contracting Party has deposited its relevant instrument.
ARTICLE 42. COMPLAINT
1. Any Contracting Party may denounce this Convention by means of written notification to the Depositary.
2. The denunciation shall take effect one year after the date of receipt of notification by the Depositary, or at a later date as specified in the notification.
ARTICLE 43. DEPOSITARY
1. The Director General of the Agency shall be the Depositary of this Convention.
2. The Depositary shall communicate to the Contracting Parties:
i) the signature of this Convention and the deposit of instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval, accessoration or confirmation in accordance with Article 39 ;
(ii) the date on which the Convention enters into force, in accordance with Article 40 ;
iii) the notifications of denunciation of the Convention and its dates, made in accordance with Article 42 ;
iv) the proposals for amendments to this Convention submitted by Contracting Parties, the adopted amendments by the relevant Diplomatic Conference or by the meeting of the Contracting Parties, and the date of entry into force of the said amendments, in accordance with Article 41.
ARTICLE 44. AUTHENTIC TEXTS
The original of this Convention, whose texts in Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, French, English and Russian are equally authentic, shall be deposited with the Depositary, who shall refer certified copies of it to the Contracting Parties.
IN TESTIMONY THAN THE SIGNATORY, BEING DULY AUTHORIZED FOR THIS EFFECT, SIGNED THIS AGREEMENT
Made in Vienna at the five days of September of a thousand nine hundred and ninety-seven.
