IMPORTANT NOT TO CONFUSE IRS IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS WITH THE RAPID WARNING SYSTEM ALSO REQUIRED. BEFORE SUCH WORK COULD BEGIN IT WAS IMPORTANT TO AGREE A COMMON COMMUNITY APPROACH. PERHAPS COMMUNITY SYSTEMS SHOULD BE SET UP IN ADVANCE, AS A GOOD EXAMPLE TO THE WORLD. THESE IDEAS WERE REFLECTED ON A LETTER FROM TINDEMANS TO DELORS (COPY BY BAG). OTHER IDEAS HAD BEEN FLOATED E.G. A NETWORK OF CHECKS ON RADIOACTIVITY LEVELS. IT WAS CLEAR THAT LEVELS FIXED BY THE COMMISSION IN 1982 TO TRIGGER MEASURES SUCH AS THE DISTRIBUTION
OF IODINE TABLETS WERE NOT NOW SUFFICIENT.
7. SOVIET COOPERATION WAS ESSENTIAL IF PROGRESS WERE TO BE MADE AT AN INTERNAITONAL LEVEL. THE BLIX VISIT HAD BEN ENCOURAGING IN THAT THE USSR HAD ADOPTED A MORE OPEN ATTITUDE AND AGREED, IN PARTICULAR, TO PARTICIPATE AT AN IAEA MEETING TO DISCUSS CHERNOBYL. (TEXT OF BLIX COMMUNIQUE BY BAG).
8. THE COMMISSION INDULGED IN SOME SPECULATION ON THE BASIS OF INFORMATION NOW RECEIVED FROM THE USSR. SOME OF THE PHYSICAL AND DYNAMIC ASPECTS OF THE REACTOR REVEALED WERE TERRIFYING, IN PARTICULAR THE POSITION OF THE MAIN PUMP. THE SAFEGUARD SYSTEM ONLY REDUCED THE OUTPUT OF THE REACTOR IN THE CASE OF A FAULT, RATHER THAN CLOSING IT DOWN TOTALLY. IT WAS APPALLING THAT THE CIVIL POPULATION HAD BEEN EVACUATED ONLY AFTER 6 DAYS.
9. THE COMMISSION PRESENTED THE DATE PROVIDED BY MEMBER STATES ON RADIOACTIVITY LEVELS (COPY BY BAG) DGXII PUT FORWARD PROPOSALS FOR POSSIBLE LONG TERM COMMISSION INVOLVEMENT IN INTERNATIONAL ACTION IN THE AREA OF NUCLEAR SAFETY (COPY BY BAG). THESE PROPOSALS WOULD BE CONSIDERED BY THE SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL COMMITTEE.
10.
ITALY AND DENMARK REACTED VERY FAVOURABLY TO THE COMMISSION'S PROPOSALS. DENMARK SUGGESTED THAT POLITICAL MOVES COULD BE MADE IMMEDIATELY, LEAVING TECHNICAL ASPECTS UNTIL LATER. IRELAND ALSO SUPPORTED THE COMMISSION, STATING THAT CHERNOBYL HAD CHANGED THE POSITION OF NUCLEAR POWER IN EUROPE. NUCLEAR POWER STATES NEEDED TO SHOW GREATER EMPATHY FOR THE PERCEPTIONS OF NON-NUCLEAR MEMBER STATES. IRELAND ALSO REPEATED THEIR CALL FOR A NUCLEAR INSPECTION FORCE. BELGIUM AND FRANCE REACTED MORE CAUTIOUSLY. BELGIUM STRESSED THAT THEY WOULD CONTINUE THEIR ENTIRELY SAFEGUARDED NUCLEAR PROGRAMME. CHERNOBYL WAS NOT IN THE COMMUNITY. FRANCE STATED THE NEED TO AVOID OVER-HASTY MEASURES. BOTH COUNTRIES SAID THE PRESENT EURATOM SAFETY LEVELS SHOULD NOT BE CALLED INTO QUESITON. UK DREW ON YOUR TELNO 173. COMMISSION PROPOSALS WOULD BE STUDIED. OTHER COUNTRIES, IN PARTICULAR US AND THE SCANDINAVIA, MUST BE CLOSELY INVOLVED IN WESTERN DISCUSSIONS
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