8. Nuclear accident in Japan
B5-0141, 0150, 0161 and 0170/1999
Resolution on the nuclear accident in Japan
The European Parliament,
A. whereas a major nuclear criticality accident happened in the Tokaimura conversion plant in Japan,
140km north-east of Tokyo,
B. whereas for several years safety procedures within the conversion plant and the fuel manufacturing
installation have been disregarded by both the operators and staff handling nuclear fuels, a muchhigher amount of uranium than safety standards allow having been mixed,
C. whereas it is surprisingthat such irreg ular handlingof uranium seemed common practice at the plant,D. whereas, since staff could not enter the plant, it proved impossible to halt the nuclear criticality,
or even to know what was happening, due to the enormous radiation levels, and whereas staff have
been seriously injured, and whereas some of the public in the area were evacuated and may have beenaffected to some degree, as yet unknown, while the 313 000 people living within 10km were told tostay indoors with the windows closed,
E. whereas this accident illustrates clearly that comprehensive emergency plans for all nuclear plants,
especially those in the EU, includingimmediate measures to protect the health of neig hbouringpopu-lations, are absolutely essential,
F. whereas adequate and continuous trainingand independent monitoring , in particular by the IAEA, of
operators and staff handlingnuclear materials are key essentials for keepingrecog nised internationalsafety standards,
1. Offers its sympathy to the people of Japan, and in particular the locals and staff directly affected, for
the fact that they have yet again suffered at the hands of this danger in their midst;
2. Deplores the operating company’s decision to allow staff to bypass government safety regulations
and calls for appropriate sanctions to be taken against those responsible; welcomes in this context theswift action of the Japanese authorities to investigate the affair;
3. Calls on the Japanese authorities to re-assess all the safety procedures, includingthe safety training
programmes of the employees, in every one of their existing nuclear plants in cooperation with the IAEA
and further calls on the Japanese authorities not to allow the resumption of activities at the Tokaimuraconversion plant until a full enquiry has taken place;
4. Calls on the Commission within the framework of its Euratom competencies to make available any
kind of specialist technical or scientific experience if requested by the Japanese authorities;
5. Calls on the IAEA to step up spot inspections and to undertake audits of safety management and its
supervision by the operator and authorities of all nuclear installations across the globe;
6. Insists that procedural negligence and error must be factored in to safety requirements for all nuclear
installations;
7. Requests its competent committee to invite IAEA and Euratom experts to come and report to it with
a comprehensive and consistent explanation of the events;
8. Calls on the Euratom inspectorate to report on lessons to be learned from this accident, includingon
safety trainingof employees, in order to meet public concern reg ardingnuclear operations in the EuropeanUnion;13.4.2000 EN C 107/111 Official Journal of the European Communities
Thursday7 October 1999
9. Calls on the Commission to consider whether EU processingcontracts with third countries, which do
not apply internationally accepted safety standards, should be continued;
10. Calls on the Commission to make a statement before Parliament, so as to clarify the EU role and
responsibilities and to clarify any possible safeguards or safety implications, notably on inspection mea-sures which have been or will be taken in order to ensure that such illegalities as happened in Japancannot happen in the EU;
11. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the parliaments of
the Member States, the IAEA and the Japanese Government.
9. Climate change
B5-0118/1999
Resolution on climate change: preparing for implementation of the Kyoto protocol
The European Parliament,
5dash having regard to the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) of December 1997(1),
5dash having regard to its earlier resolutions relating to climate change, as set out in the preambles to its
resolution of 17 September 1998 on climate change in the run-up to Buenos Aires(2),
5dash havingreg ard to its resolution of 11 March 1999 on the Communication from the Commission on
energy efficiency in the European Community 5dash Towards a strategy for the rational use of energy(COM(1998) 246 5dash C4-0316/1998)(
3),
5dash havingreg ard to the statement made by the Commission to Parliament on 27 January 1999 and
Parliament’s resolution of 9 February 1999 on the outcome of the Fourth Conference of the Partiesto the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP4) held in Buenos Aires from2-13 November 1998(
4),
5dash having regard to the World Trade Organization (WTO) High Level Symposium on Trade and Environ-
ment held at the WTO in Geneva from 15-16 March 1999,
5dash havingreg ard to the 10th Session of the Subsidiary Bodies to the UNFCCC (SBSTA) held in Bonn
(31 May-11 June 1999),
5dash having regard to the conclusions of the Cologne European Council of 3-4 June 1999,
5dash havingreg ard to the conclusions of the Environment Council of 24-25 June 1999,
5dash havingreg ard to the communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parlia-
ment entitled ‘Preparingfor Implementation of the Kyoto Protocol’ (COM(1999) 230),
5dash havingreg ard to the statements made by the Council and the Commission to Parliament on 6 October
1999,
A. whereas the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) climate models predict further tem-
perature increases of about 2°C by the year 2100 compared with 1990 levels, with greater increases inthe north of Europe than in the south; whereas, if further temperature increases are to be limited to1,5°C by 2100 and 0,1°C per decade, and sea-levels are to rise no more than 2 cm per decade, indus-trialised countries need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 35% between 1990 and2010(
5),
(1) FCCC/CP/1997/L.7/Add1.
(2) OJ C 313, 12.10.1998, p. 169.
(3) OJ C 175, 21.6.1999, p. 292.
(4) OJ C 150, 28.5.1999, p. 59.
(5) EEA report: Environment in the European Union at the turn of the century.C 107/112 EN 13.4.2000 Official Journal of the European Communities
Thursday7 October 1999