The member societies of INSC today have a total of more than 40,000 members who are scientists, engineers, technicians, and specialists with a major interest in the development of peaceful applications of nuclear science and technology. There is a growing global consensus on the need for sustainable development. Adequate energy supply is critical for emerging economies to develop and for industrialized economies to support the legitimate needs of their societies. Energy in the form of electric power is essential to improve efficiency, develop conservation technologies, recover, recycle and properly dispose of wastes, and minimize environmental pollution.
Nuclear energy can play a vitally needed role in meeting future electricity needs.
Licensed nuclear power plants, designed to established standards and operated by qualified personnel, have amassed a safety record unmatched by any alternative energy source. The accident at Chernobyl was indeed serious. All new designs must meet stringent safety standards, and international efforts are proving successful in instilling a safety culture and management controls to all operating plants. It does produce radioactive wastes. These are sufficiently concentrated that it is worth the effort and cost to confine them and dispose of them in permanent repositories, and thereby keep them out of the environment forever.