Nuclear power industry leaders on Wednesday sent the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit a joint statement stressing their commitment to nuclear security, safety and cooperation with governments.
About 350 industry executives attended their own summit – the 2016 Nuclear Industry Summit – in Washington that took place on the eve of the more widely publicized event, which was the two-day summit of world leaders hosted by U.S. President Barack Obama, which convened on Thursday.
The 2016 Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) – the fourth such convention since 2010 – has heightened concerns this year owing to the terrorists attacks in Brussels last week that included fears that the initial targets included Belgium's nuclear power plants. Additionally, Russia is boycotting the event, citing a lack of cooperation in creating the summit's agenda.
Obama noted in a opinion piece in the Washington Post that the United States and Russia are still owners of “more than 90 percent of the world's nuclear weapons.” He called for further weapons reductions, noting “Our massive Cold War nuclear arsenal is poorly suited to today's threats.”
The NSS is expected to focus on strengthening existing regulatory organizations, like the International Atomic Energy Agency and the 86-member Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism, as well as international police agencies. They will also focus on the possible theft of nuclear materials with respect to creation of a radioactive dirty bomb and the global increase of terrorism.
In their statement, industry leaders stressed their continued cooperation with governments to secure radioactive materials, train staff, align the industry with regulatory requirements and promote a culture of safety.
The industry broke down a lengthy list of pledges that start with “effectively securing all nuclear and radiological materials in industrial facilities and applications, at a minimum by complying with national regulations." Additional pledges included continuous improvement of security practices, enhancement of public and stakeholder confidence, enhancing a security culture that includes “encouraging employees to report suspicious behavior,” improving cybersecurity, supporting efforts to strengthen global nuclear security and enhancing the state of radiological security.
Finally, the group said that the industry recognizes that “highly enriched uranium and separated plutonium require special precautions and that it is of great importance that they be appropriately secured, consolidated and accounted for.”
The industry executives said, “We are encouraged by States to continue to minimize stocks of highly enriched uranium and to keep stockpiles of separated plutonium to the minimum level, both as consistent with national requirements.”
At the Washington event, Westinghouse President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel Roderick presented the International Leadership Award to His Excellency Nursultan Nazarbayev, President Republic of Kazakhstan and Askar Zhumagaliev, chairman of Kazatomprom. The Atoms For Peace Awards, presented by Susan Eisenhower of the Eisenhower Group, went to the Federal Republic of Brazil, Republic of Chile, Czech Republic, Kingdom of Denmark, Georgia, Hungary, Republic of Korea, United Mexican States, Republic of the Philippines, Romania, Kingdom of Spain, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Thailand, Republic of Turkey, Ukraine and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
The Chairman's Award was presented by Jack Edlow, chairman of NIS 2016 International Board of Advisors and president Edlow International Company, to Amir Shahkarami, president and chief executive officer CASe Global Partners; Kent Cole, president and chief executive officer NAC International and John Barrett, president and chief executive officer of Canadian Nuclear Association.