The world’s top nuclear companies, including Westinghouse, Areva, GE-Hitachi, Mitsubishi, and Atomstroyexport, have agreed to a voluntary set of principels negotiated over three years with the assistance of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
The Principles of Conduct, the first agreement of its kind in the history of the industry, addresses safety, security, accident compensation, ethics, environmental protection and spent-fuel management. The agreement also incorporate guidelines from the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Nuclear Suppliers Group, international treaties and an early analysis of the Fukushima Daiichi accident in Japan.
“At AREVA, like in the rest of the nuclear industry, continuous improvement is part of our culture. Our entire industry supports these values as a token of our commitment to a sustainable future for nuclear energy,” Areva CEO Luc Oursel was quoted as saying in a release after the principles were announced Thursday.
Toshiba subsidiary Westinghouse also was among the nuclear exporters expressing enthusiasm for the agreement, with CEO Aris Candris saying in a release that it will help foster “confidence in the safe and peaceful use of nuclear power … In adopting these Principles of Conduct, Westinghouse is reaffirming our commitment to deliver safe, clean and reliable energy from nuclear power on a global scale."
The list of signatories includes:
– Areva
– ATMEA (an AREVA-Mitsubishi joint venture)
– Atomstroyexport
– Candu Energy
– GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy
– Korea Electric Power Company
– Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
– Toshiba
– Westinghouse Electric Company