World Nuclear Transport Institute
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This article is part of the Nuclear Spin project of Spinwatch. |
Contents
Background
The World Nuclear Transport Institute (WNTI) was founded in 1998 by British Nuclear Fuels Limited, COGEMA of France, and the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan to "represent the collective interests of the radioactive materials transport sector, and those who rely on safe, effective and reliable transport".
According to the WNTI, over the past eight years, it "has grown dramatically with member companies drawn from a wide range of industry sectors, including major utilities, fuel producers and fabricators, transport companies, package producers, and the production and supply of large radiation sources". [1]
Lobbying at an International Level
The WNTI enjoys non-governmental status at a number of key international fora. It has consultative status with the International Maritime Organization (IMO), and observer status with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In addition, WNTI has consultative status with the United Nations Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, Category B Liaison Membership with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and information status with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) N14 Committee. [2]
THE WNTI also lobbies the Committee of North Sea Senior Officials (CONSSO) that meets to advise Environment Ministers of States bordering the North Sea meet every few years to discuss issues of common concern regarding the North Sea. [3]
Close Coooperation
WNTI works closely with FORATOM, Nuclear Energy Institute and the World Nuclear Association. [4]
An "Outstanding Safety Record?"
In 2002 the WNA and WNTI issued a joint statement at the Fifth North Sea Conference, Bergen, in Norway that stated that both orgnisations believed "that the nuclear industry makes a significant contribution to sustainable energy availability and, in particular, to responding to concerns about global warming through the avoidance of carbon dioxide emissions".
"In order for nuclear power to play its part in meeting the needs of people, radioactive materials must be transported to where they are needed".
"Such transports have an outstanding safety record and indeed, could be regarded as a model for the transport of other classes of dangerous goods. No other class of transport is subject to a more stringent international regulatory safety regime". [5]
The following year, The Observer newspaper reported that "A nine-fold increase in the number of safety scares involving the transportation of nuclear material has prompted an urgent security review by Tony Blair. New figures reveal that the number of incidents involving nuclear materials on railways, roads, waterways and in the air rose from four in 1972 to 35 in 2001". [6]
Key Personnel
- Malcolm Miller - Chairman
- Lorne Green - Secretary General - has been with the WNTI since it was established in 1988.
- Tracy Grant-Wilson - Communications Manager
Notes
- ↑ WNTI Website
- ↑ WNTI Website
- ↑ WNTI, Review 2005
- ↑ WNTI Website
- ↑ World Nuclear Association / World Nuclear Transport Institute Joint Statement, Fifth North Sea Conference, Bergen, Norway, 20 March, 2002.
- ↑ Mark Townsend, "Nuclear Fuel Transport Fears Force Security Review", The Observer, 16 March, 2003.
