Delegates
will work night-long to negotiate the more than
20 resolutions on the floor at the International
Atomic Energy Association's 45th General Conference
in Vienna, Austria.
The
focus at the conference is on nuclear material safety
measures, an concern heightened by the increase in
global terrorism. Further issues on the agenda include
nuclear technology transfers and nuclear energy. The
132 member states concluded statements to the plenary
Thursday and began work on negotiating resolutions.
"Measures to improve the security
of nuclear material--specifically the
physical protection of nuclear material
and facilities--is an important issue," said
Melissa Fleming, Spokesperson for the
IAEA. "There is going to be some
language on the need for now devoting
attention to potential attacks against
nuclear facilties."
The recent terrorist attacks on New
York City and Washington DC have put
the spotlight on nuclear safety issues.
An important worry is a potential attack
on nuclear power plants, of which there
are more than 130 in the United States.
"On September 11 we asked all nuclear
power plants to go to the highest level
of security," said Sue Gagner, Public
Affairs Officer for the US Nuclear Regulatory
Commission. "They have all complied
with the request and they remain at that
level of security."
While the cooling towers of nuclear
plants are prominent, the reactors themselves
are not very visible and thus not good
targets for an attack similar to those
on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
Besides, the containment structures that
house the reactors, are made of highly
reinforced concrete and steel.
"Nuclear power plants are among
the most hardened structures in the US," said
Gagner. "They were designed to withstand
earthquakes tornadoes and hurricanes.
Those close to airports were also designed
to withstand the impact of an aircraft."
Most of the structures were built in
the sixties and seventies. At that time,
however, airplanes were not as large
or as powerful as they are now and the
containments may not be able to withstand
the impact of a large jet.
"No one conceived that they (reactors)
could become the target of jumbo jets," said
Gagner.
While the threat of a terrorist attack
on a nuclear reactor must be taken into
consideration, the destruction it would
cause depends on several variables.
"The level of damage would depend
on where the reactor was hit, what kind
of impact was suffered, what kind of
plane or bomb was used," said Fleming. "The
worst possible scenario would be that
it penetrated the reactor core and radio-active
material spewed out."
Most nuclear reactors are already prepared
for smaller scale explosions including
car bombs.
None of resolutions presented Thursday
address the possibility of an attack
on nuclear plants, though the IAEA plans
to research the matter further. Many
of the resolutions on the floor at the
conference address the safety of nuclear
research reactors and decisions could
be applied to the safety of nuclear plants.
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