July 24, 2012
Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy
The world’s leading civilian nuclear power plant vendors have concluded a second meeting to review implementation of the Nuclear Power Plant Exporters’ Principles of Conduct. Participants in the meeting underscored the importance of encouraging the global nuclear industry to embrace the Principles of Conduct and their effective implementation.
The participating companies welcomed Rusatom Overseas’ announcement that it has adopted the Principles of Conduct as the successor company to Atomstroyexport. They also welcomed Babcock & Wilcox as the first new adopter of the Principles since their public announcement in September 2011. The participants approved a set of updated ground rules for the Principles of Conduct. The Secretariat will release a summary report summarizing implementation experiences in the coming weeks.
In recognition of the ongoing international effort to assess the causes and consequences of the Fukushima nuclear accident, companies updated the Principles of Conduct text to reflect the importance of severe accident management and emergency response requirements. The companies also modified Principle 2.6 to reference the 2005 Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (a vital instrument for global nuclear security) and updated Principle 6: Ethics — to discourage conflicts of interest.
Reflecting their commitment to implementation of the Principles of Conduct most of the companies expanded the practice of presenting their internal programs, discussed their outreach efforts, shared best practices, and considered other ways to enhance their effectiveness. Participants discussed engaging emerging players in the nuclear industry, in particular vendors of small and non-power-generating reactors. They have engaged the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) and welcome their possible attendance at future meetings.
The meeting was convened in Pittsburgh in the United States by the Principles of Conduct secretariat in cooperation with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The secretariat, the Carnegie Endowment, and all participants expressed their deep appreciation to the Westinghouse Electric Company for its role in supporting the Secretariat in organizing the meeting. The participating companies will meet again in January 2013.
Notes
More information about the Nuclear Power Plant Exporters’ Principles of Conduct is available at nuclearprinciples.org. The Nuclear Power Plant Exporters’ Principles of Conduct are an industry code of conduct articulating and consolidating recommended best practices in the exportation of nuclear power plants.
