Ha COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
COM(93) 408 final 
Brussels, 1 September 1993 
Proposal for a 
COUNCIL RESOLUTION 
on the future of testing reactors in the Community 
(presented by the Commission) 
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Communication from the Commission to the Council concerning a proposal for a 
Council resolution on the future of testing reactors in the Community 
I Introduction 
In response to a request from the Council of Ministers (Research) of 29 
April 1992 when it adopted the programme of activities of the Joint 
Research Centre, the Commission sent the Council a "Communication from 
the Commission to thr Council on the situation of testing reactors in the 
Community". 
That communication was based on the work and conclusions of a 
Coordination Group made up of operators of testing reactors in use in the 
Community. 
It was submitted to the Council in September 1992. 
II. Two new aspects 
Since then, two new aspects have commanded attention: 
1) Fuel cycle 
One of the major problems which affects these reactors, but also 
all research reactors throughout the world, concerns their fuel 
supply and the management of spent fuel and waste. 
Until 1989, the United States supplied fresh fuel and retrieved 
spent fuel as part of its "off-site policy". That policy was 
suspended under the Bush administration for domestic policy 
reasons chiefly related to environmental considerations (waste 
management). 
Soon after taking office, the Clinton administration - particularly 
concerned about nonproliferation - intimated that it might 
propose an alternative policy, which would be on a very different 
commercial basis (real cost) and for a period of ten years only to 
enable local solutions to be devised. 
A policy statement to that effect was due in July 1993, but will not 
now be forthcoming until the autumn. Secondly, the procedures 
which were supposed to lead to a decision are proving more 
cumbersome than expected. Unfortunately, reactor operators 
cannot put off the choices they have to make now which will 
determine the future of their facilities. 
This state of affairs prompted certain Member States with specific 
expertise in this field to consider solutions which could give rise to 
a "Community" approach by taking account of all the various 
aspects of the problem, particularly the final storage of the waste. 
The bodies responsible, which work in close cooperation, 
approached the Commission and asked it to resume a dialogue at 
Community level. 
2) Medical applications - production of radioisotopes 
In its Communication the Commission underlined the precarious 
nature of the production in Europe of radioisotopes used in 
hospitals and in research or medical establishments. 
It relied for this information not only on the discussions of the 
Coordination Group but also on the findings of a study it had 
commissioned from an independent body. 
A few months later, an incident in one of the reactors was 
enough to cause a fall in the stocks of certain suppliers of 
radiopharmaceuticals to the point where they were virtually no 
longer able to supply the hospitals which depended on them. An 
immediate approach was made to the operators of the JRC's High 
Flux Reactor in Petten, asking them to alter its work programme 
as a matter of urgency in order to meet the needs of the firms 
concerned. An exercise of this kind is often extremely difficult. 
Therefore, the Commission decided to bring together the 
operators of the reactors concerned - including the Swedes -, the 
representatives of the radiopharmaceutical industry and the main 
users, i.e. the medical profession. This meeting was an 
undeniable success and covered the issues in great depth. 
It showed in particular that, even though radioisotope 
production represents only a limited proportion of the testing 
reactor market, it is crucial in the short and medium term as far as 
public health is concerned. The President of the European 
Association of Nuclear Medicine clearly pointed out both the 
considerable advantages afforded to patients in terms of 
diagnosis and treatment and the considerable progress that 
needed to be made in order to achieve widespread and uniform 
dissemination of these methods and to protect patients against 
the risks connected with alternative conventional methods. 
This meeting clearly highlighted the need for a European solution 
and for early coordination between operators in order to solve 
the most pressing problems. 
Conclusions 
The Commission considers that these two aspects bear out the conclusions 
of the Coordination Group concerning the urgent need for closer 
consultation on the use of testing reactors. 
The Community has ten years at most to resolve the issues related to the 
fuel cycle of these reactors, in particular the problem of the management 
of spent fuel and waste. Past experience and the scale of the technical, 
economic and political problems involved suggest that it is going to need 
all of those ten years. 
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This also presupposes that solutions will be found in the intervening 
period, that is to say that the US authorities in particular will be in a 
position to bring forward suitable proposals. However, that is by no 
means certain, and should such proposals not be forthcoming the need for 
a Community approach will be be even more pressing. 
A sudden shutdown of these reactors in the Community would 
undoubtedly be a serious blow. In particular it would present 
insurmountable problems in the short and medium term for the medical 
profession and also, therefore, for public health. 
As the Commission noted in its earlier communication, Dr. Williams, 
former Director of the Harwell establishment, drew attention as long ago 
as 1989 in the study he carried out at the Council's request to the fragility 
of the situation regarding the potential availability of testing reactors in 
the Community over the coming ten years and to the fact that a 
reorganization of the system might be imposed by failure of the reactors 
one by one rather than as a result of any balanced consideration of the 
overall situation. 
The Commission considers that such a risk and its possible consequences 
are unacceptable from the point of view of the Community's 
development. It is fully prepared to shoulder its responsibilities in this 
matter, but can only do so if it is supported by the express will of the 
Council and in close cooperation with the Member States concerned. 
Proposal for a Council Resolution 
on the future of testing reactors in the Community 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy 
Community; 
Having regard to the conclusions of the Council of Ministers (Research) of 
29 April 1992, 
Having regard to Council Decision No. 92/275/Euratom of 29 April 1992 
concerning the supplementary programme on the operation of the high flux 
reactor in Petten, 
Having regard to Council Decision No. 77/270/Euratom of 29 March 1977 
empowering the Commission to issue Euratom loans; 
Having regard to the communication from the Commission to the Council 
No SEC(92)1471 of 31 July 1992 concerning the situation of testing reactors in 
the Community, 
Whereas Article 2c of the Euratom Treaty gives the Community the task of 
facilitating investment and ensuring the establishment of the basic 
installations necessary for the development of nuclear energy in the 
Community; whereas this is particularly relevant to nuclear safety ; 
Whereas testing reactors make a vital contribution to the safety of power 
reactors in terms of both equipment and fuel fabrication; 
Whereas the viability of the testing reactors, as well as of the research 
reactors, in the Community depends on long-term solutions being found for 
their supply and for the closing of the fuel cycle; 
Whereas the applications of testing reactors for medical purposes to produce 
radioisotopes needed for the diagnosis and treatment of certain illnesses are 
essential to public health; 
Whereas it is necessary to maintain production of these radioéléments in the 
Community and to guarantee supplies on a permanent basis to hospitals and 
other medical or research establishments using isotopes; 
Whereas the Treaty on European Union states that the Community shall 
contribute towards ensuring a high level of human health protection by 
encouraging cooperation between the Member States and, if necessary, 
lending support to their action, that Member States shall, in liaison with the 
Commission, coordinate among themselves their policies and programmes in 
particular on the prevention of disease and that the Commission may, in close 
contact with the Member States, take any useful initiative to promote such 
coordination (Article 129, Title X, Public Health); 
Whereas on 25 July 1985 the Council adopted Regulation No 2137/85/EEC on 
on the European Economic Interest Grouping (EEIG), 
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1. Acknowledges the advantage to the Community of maintaining an adequate 
potential capacity in respect of efficient and reliable testing reactors in the 
Community; 
2. Notes that the future of these reactors is an important and complex issue 
which must be addressed with especial attention, and therefore welcomes the 
initiative by the Commission to bring together the operators of testing 
reactors in the Community within a Coordination Group; 
3. Invites the Commission to examine practical initiatives in close liaison with the 
operators, and to lend its assistance in order to: 
increase coherence and improve coordination in the operation and 
use of testing reactors; 
draw up as full and detailed an inventory as possible of existing and 
potential requests to make use of testing reactors, both at national 
level (in the context of most of the national programmes and 
industrial contracts) and at Community level; 
4. Asks the Commission to examine the feasibility of granting Euratom loans in 
favour of testing reactors in order to ensure their continued operation in the 
Community and to submit an appropriate proposal to it; 
Invites the European Investment Bank to examine possible supplementary 
interventions it could undertake in aid of this continuity; 
5. Expresses its concern about the situation regarding the fuel cycle of testing 
reactors, and also of the research reactors within the Comunity; 
Considers that the fuel supply must be ensured, as must the safe long-term 
management of spent fuel and waste; 
Urges the reactor operators and the Commission to examine, in close liaison 
with the competent national authorities, all possible solutions, especially 
those which lend themselves to implementation within a Community 
framework; 
6. Underlines the importance it attaches, in the health field, to the medical 
applications of testing reactors, in particular for the production of 
radioéléments essential to the diagnosis and treatment of certain illnesses 
(especially cancer), 
Considers that it is imperative for the Community to ensure the continued 
production of these isotopes on its territory so as to guarantee the supply of 
its hospitals and other medical or research establishments under all 
circumstances; 
Calls on the operators of these reactors to join together in a European 
Economic Interest Grouping to coordinate and promote, in the Community 
interest, the medical applications of their activities, and calls on the 
Commission to provide the operators with all the assistance necessary to set 
up such a grouping. 
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ISSN 0254-1475 
COM(93) 408 final 
DOCUMENTS 
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Catalogue number : CB-CO-93-446-EN-C 
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