TNAG-1658-FCO40-2306-Daya-Bay-nuclear-power-station-project-safety-concerns-in-Ho-1987 — Page 251

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people being injured by radioactivity will simply not be tolerated by the

public. Chernobyl is the only example of such an accident and it must

remain the only one, if a long-term development of nuclear power is to be

possible. Considerable efforts are now being made in individual

countries and in the IAEA to ensure that operational safety is high and

that any accidents and incidents in nuclear power stations that might

occur in the future will not have any significant consequences outside

the power stations.

The international repercussions of Chernobyl were much stronger

than in any other accident that has occurred. Chernobyl brought home

that an accident anywhere is an accident everywhere. As a result, the

IAEA became the centre of an intense activity to strengthen international

co-operation in the field of nuclear safety. There are two specific

aims, first to prevent accidents from occurring, and second to minimize

the consequences of any accident, should one occur.

It was for the second aim that two international conventions

one

on early warning of an accident and the other on emergency assistance

were worked out, negotiated and adopted within the record time of four

months at the Agency. Steps are now being taken to make these systems

operative. Steps are also being taken to achieve a harmonization of the

levels of radioactive contamination at which governments will intervene

with bans on sale, consumption and trade in various foodstuffs.

Even more important is the work to prevent accidents from occurring

in the first place. For a long time there have existed IAEA nuclear

safety standards (NUSS)

some 60 in all

A

covering everything from the