APPLYING THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE TO OCEAN SHIPMENTS OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS

A new regime is emerging to govern the sea transport of ultrahazardous materials such as plutonium and high-level nuclear wastes. Building o n the precautionary principle and on provisions in the 1982 United Nat ions Law of the Sea Convention and the 1989 Basel Convention on the Co ntrol of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposa l the International Atomic Energy Agency and the International Maritim e Organization are developing instruments that confirm the requirement s of prior consultation on routes and emergencies and the preparation of environmental impact assessments. State practice, as reflected in t he complaints voiced during the 1992 shipment of plutonium and the 199 5 shipment of vitrified high-level wastes from France to Japan, and in the acquiescence of the vessels to these complaints, indicates that t he countries involved in and affected by these shipments already under stand and accept the emergence of this new regime.