Applying the precautionary principle to ocean shipments of radioactive materials

Abstract

Abstract A new regime is emerging to govern the sea transport of ultrahazardous materials such as plutonium and high‐level nuclear wastes. Building on the precautionary principle and on provisions in the 1982 United Nations Law of the Sea Convention and the 1989 Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, the International Atomic Energy Agency and the International Maritime Organization are developing instruments that confirm the requirements of prior consultation on routes and emergencies and the preparation of environmental impact assessments. State practice, as reflected in the complaints voiced during the 1992 shipment of plutonium and the 1995 shipment of vitrified high‐level wastes from France to Japan, and in the acquiescence of the vessels to these complaints, indicates that the countries involved in and affected by these shipments already understand and accept the emergence of this new regime. Keywords: environmental protectionnavigational freedomsnuclear wasteplutoniumprecautionary principleradioactive materialsultrahazardous cargoes