Moscow, Apr 26 : Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has sent a set of proposals to the leaders of G-8 and BRICS, grouping of the most industrialised nations and the fastest emerging economies, including India to further improve international nuclear safety regulations.
According to the Kremlin, the proposals are the result of analysis of events at the Fukushima-1 NPP in Japan and are a response to the rapid growth of civil nuclear power facilities around the world.
Medvedev has proposed to supplement existing conventions and the UN nuclear watchdog, International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) statute with several provisions stipulating the responsibility of the state for providing a timely and adequate response to an accident in order to minimise its impact.
He has proposed to put in place regulations aimed at the coordination and cooperation between the state, the operating organisation and the supervisory agency in accident management to reduce its impact.
Medvedev, who became the first Russian leader to visit the now defunct Chernobyl Atomic Power Station, marking the 25 years since the world's worst nuclear disaster,
has proposed that the states using nuclear energy should be responsible for ensuring the level of nuclear safety not below the level corresponding to the IAEA standards.
Every country should have a ready action plans for emergencies related to the operation of nuclear power stations, according to Medvedev.
He also proposed that the countries intending to build nuclear power facilities must establish infrastructure in accordance with IAEA recommendations and with the participation of the supplier of the nuclear plan equipment.
Medvedev also proposed to stipulate additional regulations for nuclear power plant construction in seismic zones and in areas with a high risk of natural disasters, with the view of their possible compound effect.
He also proposed to adopt regulations regarding the information to be provided about the accident, depending on its severity on the IAEA scale.
According to the Kremlin, nuclear safety proposals also have been submitted to the IAEA and the leaders of the CIS countries and are expected to be formally discussed at the G8 summit in France next month. PTI
