Signed on April 18, 2005:
“This Action Plan establishes the necessary framework to coordinate activities designed to promote the expansion of safe and secure nuclear power, in our respective countries, and globally. It also formalizes an agreement between our two nations – leading nuclear technology countries – to collaborate in four main areas, and provides the additional foundation for the U.S. and Japan to align efforts in support of global expansion of nuclear energy.
Four main areas outlined in the Action Plan are:
- Cooperation of nuclear energy research and development under GNEP;
- Collaboration on policies and programs that support the construction of new nuclear power plants;
- Establishment of a nuclear fuel supply assurance mechanism; and
- Joint collaboration to support the safe and secure expansion of nuclear energy in interested countries while promoting non-proliferation, consistent with GNEP.
Implementation of the Action Plan will begin immediately. Its execution will be overseen by a Steering Committee, co-chaired by the U.S. and Japan. Both nations will establish six GNEP research and development working groups in the following areas, to benefit from each other’s expertise and implement areas of cooperation identified in the Action Plan:
- Fast Reactor Technology;
- Fuel Cycle Technology;Simulation and Modeling;
- Small and Medium Reactors;
- Safeguards and Physical Protection and;
- Waste Management.
The U.S. and Japan share the objectives for establishing a global framework to expand nuclear energy use and minimize proliferation risks while enabling the benefits from the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Both nations support the development of a global nuclear energy infrastructure as envisioned in GNEP to develop innovative nuclear reactor and fuel cycle technologies. GNEP seeks to bring about a significant, wide-scale use of nuclear energy worldwide, and to take actions that will allow that vision to be achieved, while decreasing the risk of nuclear weapons proliferation and effectively addressing the challenge of nuclear waste disposal.”
–from the US Department of Energy website:
http://nuclear.energy.gov/newsroom/2007PRs/nePR042507.htm
…I find it difficult to interpret “safe /peaceful nuclear energy expansion” as anything other than an oxymoron, especially of this recently passed Action Plan intends to bring about “a significant, wide-scale use of nuclear energy worldwide”. !!
It is amazing to see the DOE attempt to portray and disguise plans of nuclear proliferation and nuclear energy (read: defense) research as some kind of environmentally friendly solution for a more sustainable future.
-may
