Exactly 34 years ago, the Convention for the Protection of Nuclear Materials was opened for signature. So what's the situation now?

Exactly 34 years ago, the Convention for the Protection of Nuclear Materials was opened for signature. So what's the situation now? Exactly 34 years ago, on March 3, 1980, the United Nations Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials was opened for signature in Vienna.

The title of the document may seem complicated, but behind it are simple and alarming truths. Nuclear power plants operate in dozens of countries today. This type of energy is still considered the most economical and perspective. On the other hand, there is a possibility that the nuclear materials at the power plant could be stolen by terrorist groups. The material falling into the hands of terrorists poses a serious danger. Concrete forms of nuclear terrorism can be diverse. There are three possible types: detonation of a nuclear weapon, sabotage at nuclear power plants, and the making of a "dirty bomb", that is, an ordinary explosive with radioactive material in it.

The convention provides for international control over the storage and protection of nuclear materials. The audit is carried out by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Russia gives full support to the Convention and calls on all countries to join the Convention. For now, the number of countries participating in the convention is around 100.

Currently, 31 nuclear power plants are operating in 400 countries of the world. The amount of plutonium that each reactor produces in a year is enough to produce several atomic bombs. The IAEA tries to keep the process of using processed nuclear fuel completely under control in all countries where nuclear power plants operate. The USA, which provides fresh nuclear fuel for nuclear power plants built according to American projects abroad, sees the processed fuel as its own property. That's why Americans take great care of the safety of this processed fuel. The Russian Federation takes the same stance when constructing nuclear power plants according to their projects.

The rapid rise in the international peaceful atomic market continues. The number of nuclear reactors is increasing from year to year. Furthermore, more than 50 countries have uranium and plutonium reserves. Nearly a thousand laboratories and enterprises using radioactive and nuclear materials operate in dozens of countries. The Vienna Convention, in which new changes have been made in recent years, is still open for signature. The Convention remains the only real tool for the safety of nuclear materials.

 

Source : turkish.ruvr

📩 04/03/2014 00:35