Security of radioactive sources : France and IAEA get involved
On the occasion of the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit (NSS), in Washington, France proposed a gift basket in favor of the security of disused radioactive sources. This gift basket has been officially reopened to all IAEA Member States, during the side event organized by the IAEA for the International Conference on Nuclear Security.
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During the International Conference on Nuclear Security, that takes place in Vienna from 5th December till 9th December, France participated to the side event « Scaling up Worldwide Capacity to Manage Disused Sealed Radioactive Sources ».
Organized by the IAEA, this event will introduce the IAEA concept of Centre of Reference to support the scale up the capabilities for the management of disused sealed radioactive sources (DSRS) to improve global security and safety, to review the options for DSRS management, volume of work to be done, estimation of needs and current limitations to do more and to share experiences from Member States and discuss how to facilitate the optimization of DSRS management. The event will also allow open discussion on the enabling conditions and gather all the thoughts, advice and potential support strategies of the participants.
Following the commitments made by the French President, during the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit, France has re-opened its gift basket with three main goals :
- to contribute to the strengthening of the political awareness on this topic ;
- to propose concrete measures, to be implemented after 2016, to scale up the security of these radioactive sources ;
- to offer a platform, shared by as many States as possible, in order to initiate a substantial work following the 2016 NSS, especially with the IAEA.
- French experts attending the side event
- D.R. Représentation permanente auprès des Nations unies à Vienne.
The gift basket focuses on these three main topics (strengthening the contain and the implementation of relevant framework, promoting exchanges on alternative technologies to replace high activity radioactive sources, and promotion of a strengthened collaboration between supplier States with a view to a better management of disused radioactive sources and preventing them to become orphan).
In 2016, France introduced this gift basket during the Nuclear Security Summit, with the support of 27 States and Interpol. It is now opened to new States.
- François Hollande, French President, during the plenary session of the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit.
- D.R. - Nuclear Security Summit image gallery
Among other French commitments and actions, the following can be mentioned :
- co-chairing of an ad hoc Working Group on alternative technologies ;
- promotion of the IAEA Code of Conduct ;
- the France-IAEA action plan to secure and repatriate radioactive sources located abroad ;
- the drafting and tabling at the united Nations general Assembly, every other year, of a French-German resolution dedicated to the security of radioactive sources (adopted in 2016, by consensus) ;
- one example of a national initiative : replacing blood irradiators by X-ray technology devices.
- Clément ARMINJON, announcing the re-opening of the French gift basket to all IAEA Member States.
- D.R. Permanent mission to the United nations in Vienna
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