Resolution on the nuclear accident in Japan
Date: 1999-10-07
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: Japan, nuclear accident, nuclear power station, occupational safety, public health, safety standard, vocational training

13.4.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 107/111

Thursday 7 October 1999

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 much
higher amount of uranium than safety standards allow having been mixed,

C. whereas it is surprising that such irregular handling of 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 been
affected to some degree, as yet unknown, while the 313 000 people living within 10km were told to
stay indoors with the windows closed,

E. whereas this accident illustrates clearly that comprehensive emergency plans for all nuclear plants,
especially those in the EU, including immediate measures to protect the health of neighbouring popu-
lations, are absolutely essential,

F. whereas adequate and continuous training and independent monitoring, in particular by the IAEA, of
operators and staff handling nuclear materials are key essentials for keeping recognised international
safety standards,

Offers its sympathy to the people of Japan, and in particular the locals and staff directly affected, for

1.
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 the
swift action of the Japanese authorities to investigate the affair;

3.
Calls on the Japanese authorities to re-assess all the safety procedures, including the 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 Tokaimura
conversion plant until a full enquiry has taken place;

Calls on the Commission within the framework of its Euratom competencies to make available any

4.
kind of specialist technical or scientific experience if requested by the Japanese authorities;

Calls on the IAEA to step up spot inspections and to undertake audits of safety management and its

5.
supervision by the operator and authorities of all nuclear installations across the globe;

Insists that procedural negligence and error must be factored in to safety requirements for all nuclear

6.
installations;

Requests its competent committee to invite IAEA and Euratom experts to come and report to it with

7.
a comprehensive and consistent explanation of the events;

8.
Calls on the Euratom inspectorate to report on lessons to be learned from this accident, including on
safety training of employees, in order to meet public concern regarding nuclear operations in the European
Union;

C 107/112

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

13.4.2000

Thursday 7 October 1999

Calls on the Commission to consider whether EU processing contracts with third countries, which do

9.
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 Japan
cannot happen in the EU;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the parliaments of

11.
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,

; having regard to the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

(UNFCCC) of December 1997 (1),

; 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),

; having regard to its resolution of 11 March 1999 on the Communication from the Commission on
energy efficiency in the European Community ; Towards a strategy for the rational use of energy
(COM(1998) 246 ; C4-0316/1998) (3),

; having regard 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 Parties
to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP4) held in Buenos Aires from
2-13 November 1998 (4),

; 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,

; having regard to the 10th Session of the Subsidiary Bodies to the UNFCCC (SBSTA) held in Bonn

(31 May-11 June 1999),

; having regard to the conclusions of the Cologne European Council of 3-4 June 1999,

; having regard to the conclusions of the Environment Council of 24-25 June 1999,

; having regard to the communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parlia-

ment entitled ‘Preparing for Implementation of the Kyoto Protocol’ (COM(1999) 230),

; having regard 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 in
the north of Europe than in the south; whereas, if further temperature increases are to be limited to
1,5°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 and
2010 (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.