Decreto n.º 12/2009

TEXTO :

Decreto n.º 12/2009

de 21 de Abril

Atendendo a que se pretende contribuir para o alcance e a manutenção de um elevado nível de segurança, de índole mundial, na gestão do combustível usado e dos resíduos radioactivos, através do reforço de medidas nacionais e da promoção da cooperação ao nível internacional;

Reconhecendo que a Convenção Conjunta sobre a Segurança da Gestão do Combustível Usado e a Segurança da Gestão dos Resíduos Radioactivos, adoptada pela Conferência Geral da Agência Internacional de Energia Atómica, em Viena, em 5 de Setembro de 1997, tem por objectivo o estabelecimento e manutenção de todas as defesas possíveis que se julgam eficazes contra os potenciais riscos para os indivíduos, a sociedade e o ambiente, da exposição a radiações ionizantes:

Assim:

Nos termos da alínea c) do n.º 1 do artigo 197.º da Constituição, o Governo aprova, para adesão, a Convenção Conjunta sobre a Segurança da Gestão do Combustível Usado e a Segurança da Gestão dos Resíduos Radioactivos, adoptada pela Conferência Geral da Agência Internacional de Energia Atómica, em Viena, em 5 de Setembro de 1997, cujo texto, na versão autenticada na língua inglesa, assim como a respectiva tradução para língua portuguesa, se publica em anexo.

Visto e aprovado em Conselho de Ministros de 5 de Fevereiro de 2009. - José Sócrates Carvalho Pinto de Sousa - Luís Filipe Marques Amado - Emanuel Augusto dos Santos - Humberto Delgado Ubach Chaves Rosa - Manuel Frederico Tojal de Valsassina Heitor.

Assinado em 13 de Março de 2009.

Publique-se.

O Presidente da República, Aníbal Cavaco Silva.

Referendado em 19 de Março de 2009.

O Primeiro-Ministro, José Sócrates Carvalho Pinto de Sousa.

JOINT CONVENTION ON THE SAFETY OF SPENT FUEL MANAGEMENT AND ON THE SAFETY OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT

Preamble

The Contracting Parties:

ii) Recognizing that the same safety objectives apply both to spent fuel and radioactive waste management;

iii) Reaffirming the importance to the international community of ensuring that sound practices are planned and implemented for the safety of spent fuel and radioactive waste management;

iv) Recognizing the importance of informing the public on issues regarding the safety of spent fuel and radioactive waste management;

vi) Reaffirming that the ultimate responsibility for ensuring the safety of spent fuel and radioactive waste management rests with the State;

vii) Recognizing that the definition of a fuel cycle policy rests with the State, some States considering spent fuel as a valuable resource that may be reprocessed, others electing to dispose of it;

viii) Recognizing that spent fuel and radioactive waste excluded from the present Convention because they are within military or defence programmes should be managed in accordance with the objectives stated in this Convention;

ix) Affirming the importance of international co-operation in enhancing the safety of spent fuel and radioactive waste management through bilateral and multilateral mechanisms, and through this incentive Convention;

xi) Convinced that radioactive waste should, as far as is compatible with the safety of the management of such material, be disposed of in the State in which it was generated, whilst recognizing that, in certain circumstances, safe and efficient management of spent fuel and radioactive waste might be fostered through agreements among Contracting Parties to use facilities in one of them for the benefit of the other Parties, particularly where waste originates from joint projects;

xii) Recognizing that any State has the right to ban import into its territory of foreign spent fuel and radioactive waste;

xiii) Keeping in mind the Convention on Nuclear Safety (1994), the Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident (1986), the Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency (1986), the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (1980), the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter as amended (1994) and other relevant international instruments;

xiv) Keeping in mind the principles contained in the interagency "International Basic Safety Standards for Protection against Ionizing Radiation and for the Safety of Radiation Sources» (1996), in the IAEA Safety Fundamentals entitled "The Principles of Radioactive Waste Management» (1995), and in the existing international standards relating to the safety of the transport of radioactive materials;

xv) Recalling chapter 22 of Agenda 21 by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro adopted in 1992, which reaffirms the paramount importance of the safe and environmentally sound management of radioactive waste;

xvi) Recognizing the desirability of strengthening the international control system applying specifically to radioactive materials as referred to in article 1(3) of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (1989);

have agreed as follows:

CHAPTER 1

Objectives, definitions and scope of application

Article 1

Objectives

The objectives of this Convention are:

ii) To ensure that during all stages of spent fuel and radioactive waste management there are effective defenses against potential hazards so that individuals, society and the environment are protected from harmful effects of ionizing radiation, now and in the future, in such a way that the needs and aspirations of the present generation are met without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs and aspirations;

iii) To prevent accidents with radiological consequences and to mitigate their consequences should they occur during any stage of spent fuel or radioactive waste management.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purposes of this Convention:

Article 3

Scope of application

1 - This Convention shall apply to the safety of spent fuel management when the spent fuel results from the operation of civilian nuclear reactors. Spent fuel held at reprocessing facilities as part of a reprocessing activity is not covered in the scope of this Convention unless the Contracting Party declares reprocessing to be part of spent fuel management.

2 - This Convention shall also apply to the safety of radioactive waste management when the radioactive waste results from civilian applications. However, this Convention shall not apply to waste that contains only naturally occurring radioactive materials and that does not originate from the nuclear fuel cycle, unless it constitutes a disused sealed source or it is declared as radioactive waste for the purposes of this Convention by the Contracting Party.

3 - This Convention shall not apply to the safety of management of spent fuel or radioactive waste within military or defence programmes, unless declared as spent fuel or radioactive waste for the purposes of this Convention by the Contracting Party. However, this Convention shall apply to the safety of management of spent fuel and radioactive waste from military or defence programmes if and when such materials are transferred permanently to and managed within exclusively civilian programmes.

4 - This Convention shall also apply to discharges as provided for in articles 4, 7, 11, 14, 24 and 26.

CHAPTER 2

Safety of spent fuel management

Article 4

General safety requirements

Each Contracting Party shall take the appropriate steps to ensure that at all stages of spent fuel management, individuals, society and the environment are adequately protected against radiological hazards.

In so doing, each Contracting Party shall take the appropriate steps to:

ii) Ensure that the generation of radioactive waste associated with spent fuel management is kept to the minimum practicable, consistent with the type of fuel cycle policy adopted;

iii) Take into account interdependencies among the different steps in spent fuel management;

iv) Provide for effective protection of individuals, society and the environment, by applying at the national level suitable protective methods as approved by the regulatory body, in the framework of its national legislation which has due regard to internationally endorsed criteria and standards;

vi) Strive to avoid actions that impose reasonably predictable impacts on future generations greater than those permitted for the current generation;

vii) Aim to avoid imposing undue burdens on future generations.

Article 5

Existing facilities

Each Contracting Party shall take the appropriate steps to review the safety of any spent fuel management facility existing at the time the Convention enters into force for that Contracting Party and to ensure that, if necessary, all reasonably practicable improvements are made to upgrade the safety of such a facility.

Article 6

Siting of proposed facilities

1 - Each Contracting Party shall take the appropriate steps to ensure that procedures are established and implemented for a proposed spent fuel management facility:

ii) To evaluate the likely safety impact of such a facility on individuals, society and the environment;

iii) To make information on the safety of such a facility available to members of the public;

iv) To consult Contracting Parties in the vicinity of such a facility, insofar as they are likely to be affected by that facility, and provide them, upon their request, with general data relating to the facility to enable them to evaluate the likely safety impact of the facility upon their territory.

2 - In so doing, each Contracting Party shall take the appropriate steps to ensure that such facilities shall not have unacceptable effects on other Contracting Parties by being sited in accordance with the general safety requirements of article 4.

Article 7

Design and construction of facilities

Each Contracting Party shall take the appropriate steps to ensure that:

ii) At the design stage, conceptual plans and, as necessary, technical provisions for the decommissioning of a spent fuel management facility are taken into account;

iii) The technologies incorporated in the design and construction of a spent fuel management facility are supported by experience, testing or analysis.

Article 8

Assessment of safety of facilities

Each Contracting Party shall take the appropriate steps to ensure that: