Jn. Barkenbus et C. Forsberg, INTERNATIONALIZING NUCLEAR SAFETY - THE PURSUIT OF COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY, Annual review of energy and the environment, 20, 1995, pp. 179-212
The future of nuclear energy could depend upon the international infra
structure established to ensure the creation of a strong and uniform s
afety culture. Deliberations during the 1990s, leading to the recently
promulgated International Nuclear Safety Convention, held out the pro
spect of both bolstering nuclear safety and gaining public recognition
of the need to address transboundary safety concerns head-on. Unfortu
nately, the Convention that emerged from the deliberations constitutes
little more than another form of technical assistance. The basis for
an alternative, and more substantial, Convention is presented-one that
would be based on the establishment and evaluation of performance sta
ndards, the creation of a series of political ''firebreaks,'' and the
encouragement of nuclear power plant designs that minimize the catastr
ophic offsite consequences of accidents.