[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 193 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 193

    To encourage the development of an international convention to 
   establish international standards for nuclear power plant safety.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

             March 24 (legislative day, February 22), 1994

 Mr. Graham (for himself, Mr. Biden, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Jeffords, and 
 Mr. Bryan) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                   the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
    To encourage the development of an international convention to 
   establish international standards for nuclear power plant safety.

Whereas there are more than four hundred nuclear power plants located in a total 
        of thirty-three nations of the world;
Whereas there is a great disparity in the level of safety of the nuclear power 
        plants currently in operation;
Whereas the accident in 1986 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant demonstrated 
        that the risks of a serious accident at nuclear power plants are not a 
        remote or theoretical concern;
Whereas the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant demonstrated that an 
        accident at a nuclear power plant in one nation may cause damage to 
        human health and the environment in many other nations;
Whereas the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant demonstrated that the 
        damages from a nuclear power plant accident may include a loss of human 
        and animal life and serious long-term radiological contamination of the 
        natural environment;
Whereas the construction of new nuclear power plants in nations that do not 
        possess the regulatory and technological infrastructure to safely 
        construct and operate nuclear power plants may pose unreasonable risks 
        to human health and the environment in many nations;
Whereas there is evidence that nations which have not developed the technical 
        capability to safely construct and operate nuclear power plants may 
        attempt to construct and operate nuclear power plants;
Whereas it is important to the citizens of all nations of the world that all 
        practicable measures should be taken to avoid accidents and eliminate 
        any reasonable risks to the human health and the environment that may be 
        posed by currently operating nuclear power plants; and
Whereas it is important to the citizens of all nations of the world that new 
        nuclear power plants should not be constructed or allowed to operate if 
        such plants will pose any unreasonable risks to human health and the 
        environment: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That--
            (1) the United States support the development of an 
        international convention on nuclear power plant safety;
            (2) the United States support the inclusion of effective 
        safety standards for the design, construction, and operation of 
        existing nuclear power plants and for the design, construction, 
        and operation of new nuclear power plants in an international 
        convention on nuclear power plant safety;
            (3) the United States support an international prohibition 
        on the export of nuclear power plant technology and equipment 
        to any nation that has not agreed to abide by the international 
        convention on nuclear power plant safety;
            (4) the United States support the role of the International 
        Atomic Energy Agency in implementing the international 
        convention on nuclear power plant safety; and
            (5) the United States support meetings of the potential 
        parties to the international convention on nuclear power plant 
        safety to discuss the terms of the convention so that the 
        convention would be open for signature and ratification by 
        April, 1996.

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