Publicatie Laka-bibliotheek:
Nuclear Industry: Face your demons. Towards full liability for npp operators

AuteurFOE Europe
6-01-0-30-33.pdf
Datumoktober 2007
Classificatie 6.01.0.30/33 (AANSPRAKELIJKHEID/VERZEKERINGEN/WETGEVING)
Voorkant

Uit de publicatie:

                                               Nuclear industry: Face your demons
                                     towards full liability for nuclear power plant operators

Introduction
The nuclear power debate can get emotional, but it is both in the interest of the nuclear
power industry and in the interest of environmental NGO's like Friends of the Earth Europe
to address factual concerns. It is a fact that nuclear power plants are heavily underinsured
considering the risks which nuclear power plant operators impose upon society.

In this background position paper Friends of the Earth Europe describes the current regime
of liability for nuclear power plants, before going on to introduce an alternative. Since 2004
European countries have been updating regulation to increase nuclear power plant-
operators liability1 insurance to € 700 million per incident. Given the human tragedy of a
severe accident, Friends of the Earth Europe believes € 700 million would be far from
adequate to financially compensate victims and suggests an alternative model which could
provide a liability coverage more then a hundred times greater than currently, and
eventually unlimited.

Current status
In the early sixties, recognising the cross border effect of nuclear incidents, two groups of countries
agreed amongst each other how to arrange the liability of nuclear power plants. This resulted in
the Vienna (IAEA) and the Paris (OECD) conventions. Both included different, but limited, third
party liability. These conventions are linked by a Joint Protocol, adopted in 1988.

The main purpose of the conventions is to:

    ●   Limit liability to a certain amount and limit the period for making claims;
    ●   Require insurance or other surety by operators;
    ●   Channel liability exclusively to the operator of the nuclear
        installation;                                                                     Operator liability