European Parliament resolution on the Commission communication concerning the report by the Standing Working Group on the safe transport of radioactive material in the European Union (COM(1998) 155 - C4-0034/1999 - 1998/2083(COS))
Date: 2001-03-13
Institutions: Committee on Regional Development, European Parliament
Subjects: common transport policy, radioactive materials, radioactive waste, transport of dangerous goods, transport safety

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European Parliament legislative resolution on the Draft Council directive on mutual recognition of
decisions on the expulsion of third country nationals (10130/2000 (cid:31) C5-0398/2000 and 13968/
2000 (cid:31) C5-0004/2001 (cid:31) 2000/0819(CNS))

(Consultation procedure)

The European Parliament,

(cid:17) having regard to the initiative of the French Republic (10130/2000) (1),

(cid:17) having regard to the Council Draft (13968/2000),

(cid:17) having regard to Article 63(3) of the EC Treaty,

(cid:17) having been consulted by the Council pursuant to Article 67 of the EC Treaty (C5-0004/2001),

(cid:17) having regard to Rule 67 of its Rules of Procedure,

(cid:17) having regard to the report of the Committee on Citizens’ Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home

Affairs and the opinion of the Committee on Petitions (A5-0065/2001),

1.

2.

Rejects the Council Draft;

Calls on the French Republic to withdraw its initiative;

Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and Government of the

3.
French Republic.

(1) OJ C 243, 24.8.2000, p. 1.

7. Safe transport of radioactive material

A5-0040/2001

European Parliament resolution on the Commission communication concerning the report by the
Standing Working Group on the safe transport of radioactive material in the European Union
(COM(1998) 155 (cid:31) C4-0034/1999 (cid:31) 1998/2083(COS))

The European Parliament,

(cid:17) having regard to the Commission communication (COM(1998) 155 (cid:17) C4-0034/1999),

(cid:17) having regard to Rule 47(1) of its Rules of Procedure,

(cid:17) having regard to the report of the Committee on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism and the

opinion of the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy (A5-0040/2001),

A. whereas Commission communication (COM(1998) 155) concerning the fourth report by the Standing
Working Group on the safe transport of radioactive material in the European Union (November 1997)
asserts, in particular that ‘the risks associated with the transport of radioactive material are low, and
incidents/accidents are few and of little consequence’, that ‘no evidence has been put forward that the
requirements of the new regulations are inadequate’, and that ‘greater efforts should be made to
inform the public … on the safety of transport operations’,

B. whereas the European Parliament has already drawn up requests and recommendations in its previous
resolutions of 27 March 1996 on radioactive waste (1) and 18 June 1998 on nuclear testing by India
and Pakistan (2),

(1) OJ C 117, 22.4. 1996, p. 12.
(2) OJ C 210, 6.7.1998, p. 205.

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C. whereas the nuclear sector, including Community nuclear safety rules, continues to fall predominantly
within national jurisdiction, since the Euratom Treaty grants decision-making powers to the Member
States, while the European Parliament has only the power to deliver an opinion,

D. whereas the nuclear sector in general, and the transport of radioactive material

in particular, are
governed by the Euratom Treaty and by the European Union’s precautionary, polluter-pays, and trans-
parency principles, as well as by European and international transport legislation generally,

E. whereas radioactive material is regularly transported over long distances, not only within the European
Union but also to and from the European Union and other continents: radioactive sources and other
isotopes for research, medical and industrial use (forming the vast majority of such movements); spent
nuclear fuel transported to the La Hague and Sellafield reprocessing facilities; the plutonium extracted
from reprocessing sent to MOX (mixed oxide fuel) production plants; the final waste product returned
to their countries of origin; MOX fuel used in specific types of combustion reactors,

F. whereas, although a number of EU Member States, recently joined by Germany, have decided to stop
reprocessing and/or gradually to ‘go non-nuclear’, it will still be necessary to send consignments to
those countries which have signed reprocessing contracts, in order to return to them their nuclear
waste currently stored at reprocessing facilities,

G. whereas the increase in consignments generally and the frequency of use of road, rail, waterway and
air transport increase both the likelihood of accidents and the need for stricter safety standards in the
transportation of radioactive material,

H. whereas a modern transport system should be geared to people and the environment, i.e. it should
meet a modern society’s transport needs while remaining within the limits set by the surrounding
environment,

I. whereas safety has absolute priority over profitability and supply and whereas the nuclear industry
must strictly abide by international transport regulations and implement stricter safety measures where
justified, even in the absence of legal requirements,

J. whereas the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been issuing recommendations for the
safe transport of radioactive material in the form of Safety Standards No 6 since 1961; whereas,
although those standards are not binding, all EU Member States have incorporated them into their
national legislation,

K. whereas IAEA rules place the emphasis on the packages used in transporting the materials; whereas
this means that packages subjected to IAEA rules must be capable of ensuring confinement of the
materials transported both in normal circumstances, and in the event of an accident, and guarantee
the safety of those exposed to them,

L. whereas the basic standards laying down exposure thresholds for workers and the general public, as
adopted by the IAEA and the European Union, should be regularly reviewed to ensure that they are
based on the latest scientific findings; whereas some experts consider there to be a need to lower
exposure thresholds,

M. whereas it is the responsibility of each Member State and the Commission under Euratom Articles 35

and 36 to verify the correct implementation of Community rules on radioactivity levels,

N. whereas the 1998 contamination scandal revealed that there may be deficiencies in implementing the

rules in force,

O. whereas emergency services are notified by EU national governments about the transport of radio-
active materials so that they can contribute to the deployment of emergency measures in the event of
an accident,

P. whereas it is important that the responsible national authorities in the Member States inform local
authorities about the transit of radioactive convoys; whereas the issue of transporting radioactive
material should be subject to democratic debate,

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Q. whereas full and objective information must be provided to European citizens on the reasons for the
transport of radioactive material so that they can exercise their democratic rights in full knowledge of
the facts,

R. whereas decisions relating to the nuclear sector have hitherto been taken by governments with some-
times insufficient public debate and the mechanisms of democratic participation in that connection
should therefore be strengthened further,

Reducing the numbers of consignments

Calls on the Commission to draw up an inventory of consignments of radioactive material within the
1.
European Union and at its borders (including an up-to-date map of movements) and to assess their econ-
omic and social justification (particularly in terms of public health) in order to propose means of rational-
ising such consignments and curtailing their number and volume, in the light of the risks identified, in
compliance with the principle of prevention, if the risks are proven to outweigh the benefits;

2.
Calls on the Commission to state what prospects it currently sees for applying the proximity prin-
ciple in the case of decisions on reprocessing and disposal, as called for by Parliament in its abovemen-
tioned resolution of 27 March 1996, which would reduce transport-related risks; calls on all Member
States concerned to apply the shortest possible distance principle to all shipments of nuclear material
and, as far as possible, to avoid transit through densely populated areas;

3.
Calls on the Commission to assess the risks, in terms of public safety and environmental impact, of
the transport of all radioactive materials in the European Union, and of radioactivity levels above the
ambient average generally;

4.
Calls on the Commission to assess the viability of spent nuclear fuel reprocessing and the use of the
MOX fuel option in a long-term European perspective, and with it the need for the transport of radioactive
material for that purpose;

5.
Recommends that the remit of the Working Group, given its expertise on nuclear safety and security,
should include consideration of the risks of transporting nuclear wastes (including from reprocessing),
noting the potential risk associated with certain products such as plutonium, in particular in the event of
an accident;

Cooperation with Central and Eastern Europe

6.
Calls on the Commission to continue its cooperation with and aid to the countries of Central and
Eastern Europe with a view to improving safety throughout the continent of Europe, which is also an
important aspect of preparing those countries for membership of the European Union;

7.
Expects all Central and Eastern European countries in which nuclear material is transported to adopt
and implement in full the IAEA transport regulations as minimum standards and, more particularly,
expects this of the countries associated with the Community whose integration into the internal market
in this area depends on satisfying these conditions;

Compliance with the rules

8.
Calls, in view of the possible residual risk of harmful effects, in particular of the exposure of people
to neutron radiation, and in view of the ongoing debate about relative biological effects, for strict com-
pliance with limit values during transport, loading and unloading;

9.
Calls for carriers to take action to ensure that these limit values are met, during all stages of transport
operations and empty journeys, in the casings of wagons and on the entire outer surface of the transport
containers; furthermore, calls for compliance monitoring by independent bodies and for the results to be
made available via an electronic information system;

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10.
Supports the IAEA’s demand that appropriate radiological protection programmes be drawn up in
connection with the shipment of radioactive material and that the appropriate authorities must carry out
periodic checks to ensure that safety and other technical requirements in the transport regulations are
complied with;

Calls on the Commission to take measures in respect of Member States that infringe European

11.
provisions on radiation protection, in accordance with Article 38 of the Euratom Treaty;

12.
Recommends that the Commission carry out a review of all EU legislation applying to the transport
of radioactive materials by comparing it with that applying to the transport of hazardous materials in
order to assess to what extent the nuclear sector is in line with the general principles of EU environmental
and health policies;

Information

13.
Considers that the local and public authorities legally and operationally responsible for the safety of
persons and goods must be informed in advance of transit by convoys transporting hazardous materials,
including nuclear materials, through or close to their territory, in order to enable them to take the admin-
istrative and emergency measures necessary in the event of an accident in accordance with the principle of
responsibility and public safety; calls consequently on the Commission and Member State governments to
ensure that the local and public authorities responsible for the safety of persons and goods, as well as the
local and national emergency services concerned, are duly informed in advance of consignments of radio-
active material being transported through or over their territory;

14.
Stresses the importance of providing occupational groups working with the transportation of radio-
active material with full information on the risks, guaranteed comprehensive training in the handling of
the material and procedures in the event of an incident or accident; calls on the Commission to submit
proposals to lay down these requirements at EU level;

15.
Calls on the Commission to take into account in its future communications the reservations
expressed by some members of the European public about the transport of nuclear materials, and suggests
that it should address and respond to the scepticism felt by a great many people by providing the public
with full, factual and objective information regarding the safety of radioactive material transport;

Recommends that the Commission investigate the possibilities of placing transparent and totally

16.
objective information about the transport of radioactive material in the public domain;

17.
Considers the continuing availability of an adequate research budget to be indispensable if progress
is to be made in informing public opinion about the safe transport of nuclear fuels and non-nuclear fuels
and the potential risk and in assisting the IAEA with the regular updating of transport regulations;

Freedom of expression

Condemns in the strongest possible terms any acts of violence while shipments of fuel elements and
18.
radioactive waste are being prepared or carried out (e.g. attacks on the police, bombs on railway tracks,
destruction of power lines, etc.) and points out that remaining silent about criminal acts, or still more
showing understanding for such acts, can easily be construed as legitimising violence;

19.

Emphasises at the same time the right to freedom of expression and peaceful demonstration;

*

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Instructs its President to forward this opinion to the Commission, the Council and the governments

20.
of the Member States of the European Union.