1. No category

IAEA
International Atomic Energy Agency
topics:
 Radioactive Waste
Management
 Access to Nuclear Power
Chaired by the Honorable
Andrew Duong, Isabella Mancini, and Cole Villa
S i n c e
HBHS
April 25th, 2015
1 9 7 8
Novice
hbhsmun.webs.com
Huntington Beach High School Model United Nations
IAEA
April
25th,
2015
Welcome to the International Atomic Energy Agency!
Hi Delegates! Welcome to Novice 37, my name is Cole Villa and I am
very excited to be one of your chairs! I am currently a Junior here at
Huntington Beach High School and am in my third year of MUN. Along with
MUN I am also in my second season of playing lacrosse here for
Huntington as well. I am looking forward to seeing all of you guys in
committee and hope for a very fun but also strong and spirited debate.
Hello Delegates. My name is Andrew Duong and I am absolutely
charmed to be one of your chairs. I am currently a Senior at Huntington
Beach High School, and I am a fourth year delegate. In addition to MUN, I
am an avid bowler, polo player, and musician; I have won three
consecutive Antonio Federico Viola Competitions. In my free time, I like to
woodwork and watch Full House. I look forward to seeing you all in
committee.
Hello Delegates! My name is Isabella Mancini and I will be one of
your chairs at IAEA this year! I am a sophomore and this is my second year
in our MUN program at Huntington. When I am not participating in MUN, I
love to run on the track team and surf outside of school. I am looking
forward to hearing all of your solutions at Novice. Please remember to turn
in papers by April 19th at 11:59 P.M. to iaea.novice37@gmail.com!
Position Papers must be submitted to your Dais’s central email no later than 11:59 PM on
April 19th, 2015 to be considered for a Research Award. Research Awards will be presented
during committee; please be sure to follow the HBHSMUN Position Paper format available on
our website. Your Dais’s central email is: iaea.novice37@gmail.com
2
1905 Main Street Huntington Beach, CA 92648 I hbhsmun.webs.com I ga.novice36@gmail.com
IAEA
April
25th,
2015
I. Radioactive Waste Management
Topic Background
these varied methods is only viable for
specific lifespans of nuclear waste.
Exempt waste and very low level
wastes have been determined not harmful
to people or the environment and consist of
demolished materials such as concrete,
plaster,
piping,
and
other
similar
components of industrial sites that may
have had minimal exposure to radioactive
energy. There are no protocols in place for
the disposal of these wastes. However, low
level waste, which contain short-lived
radioactivity, is normally disposed of
through shallow burial. They can also be
burned and compacted to reduce the sheer
volume of the waste.iii
Intermediate-level and high-level
waste are considered to be relatively
dangerous to human health and the
surrounding environment. This type of
radioactive material comprises chemical
sludge, metal fuel, burnt nuclear fuel, fission
products, and other elements produced in a
nuclear reactor. Contrary to the treatment
and management of lower level wastes,
intermediate and high-level waste react
even more violently and dangerously when
heated, so containment requires a lot of
cooling and isolation. A popular method of
disposing high-level waste is deep burial in
which large amounts of nuclear waste are
stored in cooled and secured containers
and then buried deep underneath the earth.
At such a low depth, the radioactive material
will not be able to react and thus will not
endanger the environment or people.
Furthermore, vitrification has become an
intriguing study as it proposes an efficient
solution to convenient storing of nuclear
waste. Vitrification revolves the process of
converting phased radioactive material into
solid glass which makes the waste conform
to a smaller, uniform volume which is then
easier to store, transport, and handle. iv
As the world continues to become
increasingly dependent on alternative
sources of energy, the issue of properly
disposing the waste from these resources
constantly arises as deposits of waste
perpetually build up over time. One of the
most popular forms of sustainable energy,
nuclear energy, comes with the most
dangerous waste product, radioactive
waste, which when not managed properly,
poses hazardous threats to the health of
people living in the effective radius of
nuclear waste. Each year, over 210,000
cubic meters of nuclear waste is produced
from nuclear power generators worldwide.
This is the average waste production of
individual generation facilities. Although
miniscule in relation with the total
accumulation of toxic wastes, nuclear waste
poses the largest threat to human health
and because of this, is treated with the
utmost care and technology. Not only does
lingering radioactive waste harm people, it
endangers the atmosphere as well as the
environment. i
Because radioactive waste decays
over time, it must be controlled and
contained in properly maintained facilities
before it is disposed in order to ensure that
the nuclear material is no longer dangerous.
The timeframe in order to determine how
long a certain species of nuclear waste may
remain dangerous depends on the chemical
properties of each specific isotope, whether
the isotope is short-lived or can remain
potent for millions of years. ii The most
common approaches towards nuclear waste
management that have been implemented
across the world include: segregation and
storage, near-surface disposal, deep burial,
and partitioning and transmutation. Each of
3
1905 Main Street Huntington Beach, CA 92648 I hbhsmun.webs.com I ga.novice36@gmail.com
IAEA
April
However, many of the vitrification processes
that have been carried out have determined
that the solid byproduct still carries slight
traces of radioactivity, which still renders the
material a hazard to handle and work with.
With an increasing usage of nuclear
fuels and reactors, the world only carries so
much space to store radioactive waste
before it can be properly disposed. One of
the core issues concerning nuclear waste
management is being able to manage the
sheer volume of nuclear waste that builds
up over time as it takes many years for
radioactive material to properly decay and
neutralize. While many solutions and
theories exist to solve this problem, many
countries do not have the materials or
technology to effectively implement all of
these experiments and protocols. v
25th,
2015
the
General
Assembly
adopted
A/RES/68/53 which clearly calls for the,
“Prohibition of the Dumping of Radioactive
Wastes” along with A/RES/64/45 which also
calls for the prohibition of the dumping of
radioactive wastes as it concerns the safety
and sovereignty of other nations. The
document titled “Promotion and protection
of all human rights, civil, political, economic,
social and cultural rights, including the right
to development” outlines the need for
countries to respect the rights of their
citizens, which includes the right to a safe
environment without chemicals radiating
from
atomic
waste. vi Furthermore,
A/RES/63/111, titled “Oceans and the Law
of the Sea” deems the disposal of
radioactive materials in waters as illegal,
asks all nations to abide by the Action Plan
for the Safety of Transport of Radioactive
Material, and requests that all nations
transporting radioactive materials maintain
contact with the nation of the disposal and
the IAEA.xvii
United Nations Involvement
The United Nations’ International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was formed
July 29, 1957 as an international
organization that continuously pursues the
promotion and advancement of clean safe
nuclear energy. The initiatives and actions
taken by the IAEA are shaped and
influenced by the needs of all of its 163
member states, as its three main pillars that
they work under are: Safety and Security,
Science and Technology, and Safeguards
and Verification. The IAEA works to ensure
“Safe, secure, and peaceful uses for nuclear
sciences and technologies” and one of the
safe and secure uses of nuclear
technologies is the Waste Management of
Radioactive materials. The IAEA has
overseen and help nations build over 150
nuclear repositories for low to intermediate
level waste and is now beginning to shift its
focus and work with member states to begin
to create repositories for higher level energy
waste products. The United Nations’
General Assembly has also taken a role in
promoting awareness of Radioactive Waste
Management when on December 5, 2013
Case Study: Taiwan Power
Company in North Korea
The idea of exporting nuclear wastes
and fuels from European countries to
nations such as Japan for reprocessing is
not a newfound idea. However, in 1997, the
Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) began
exporting their own wastes from China to
North Korea, with North Korea receiving
$1,135 per barrel of radioactive waste. viiiAt
the time, an estimated 60,000 barrels were
to be shipped into North Korea, with an
extra 140,000 barrels available for
shipment- providing North Korea with $227
million dollars if the deal was followed
through with. ix With South Korea lying just
forty miles from the reported nuclear waste
disposal location in North Korea, the people
of South Korea were outraged, resulting in
protests on South Korean water and in
Taiwan
itself.vi
The South
Korean
4
1905 Main Street Huntington Beach, CA 92648 I hbhsmun.webs.com I ga.novice36@gmail.com
IAEA
April
government had threatened to take severe
measures on China and North Korea, from
not recognizing Taiwan in international
bodies to refusing to provide aid and
cooperation when dealing with North Korea.
The reason for such measures was mainly a
safety concern, with South Korea believing
that North Korea did not have the proper
facilities to manage waste. With abandoned
coal mines lying in close proximity to the
waste facilities and bordering Seoul, South
Korea feared that the nuclear waste could
leak into the ground, ruining both North and
South
Korea’s
lands
and
ocean.vi
Furthermore, the South Korean government
had expressed concern for the fact that
North Korea’s economy might collapse,
leaving South Korea with unwanted nuclear
waste. Regardless of the controversy at the
25th,
2015
time, trans-boundary exchanges of nuclear
wastes were permitted. Article 26 of the
Radioactive Waste Management Treaty had
even accepted the uncontrolled export of
nuclear wastes.x Yet, many treaties, such as
the Base 1 Convention and the London
Dumping Treaty and the Lomé and Bamako
Conventions, had already prohibited the
export of nuclear wastes, with carcinogens
found in the wastes being a health concern
for the citizens. xi Seeing that both North
Korea and Taiwan were not associated with
any treaties stating the proper procedures
for the disposal of radioactive waste
materials, many nations with struggling
economies may take note of this, which
would push them to export their own nuclear
waste
to
other
countries.
II. Access to Nuclear Power
Topic Background
further processed into uranium hexafluoride,
in which the uranium is enriched to about
4%. Enriching uranium means that the
percentage of Uranium-235 is artificially
increased, therefore providing more energy
to the reactor.xiii
Nuclear power is currently the
subject of a heated debate; some, such as
the IAEA, contend that nuclear power is
safe for the environment and is a
sustainable energy source. In addition they
contend that it presents a viable alternative
to traditional energy producing methods
such as burning coal and natural gas, thus
reducing carbon emissions. However, there
exist many opponents for nuclear energy.
They often cite the various nuclear disasters
that have plagued society throughout
history, most notably the Chernobyl disaster
and the recent Fukushima Daiichi nuclear
disaster in Japan. These two incidents are
the only incidents that have been rated a
level seven by the International Nuclear
Event Scale, indicating a “major incident.”
Nuclear power is a relatively new
way to create electricity through the use of
nuclear reactors. Through a process of
nuclear fission, nuclear decay, and nuclear
fusion, nuclear reactors are used to produce
and thereby release nuclear energy.
Nuclear energy has constantly increased its
share of production of the world’s energy,
as by 2012, it produced approximately 13%
of the world’s energy. There are 437
operational reactors throughout the world
according to the IAEA, in 31 countries;
however, not all of these reactors are
operational. In addition to those reactors,
about 140 reactors are used to propel naval
vessels.xii
Nuclear
power
often
utilizes
Uranium, the most common of stable
radioactive natural elements. After it is
mined, it is converted into a more stable
form, usually yellow cake, which is then
5
1905 Main Street Huntington Beach, CA 92648 I hbhsmun.webs.com I ga.novice36@gmail.com
IAEA
April
These incidents are considered major
catastrophes; for instance, the Chernobyl
disaster is estimated to have caused 31
deaths directly, with 4,000 deaths caused
by cancer due to radiation, and a displaced
500,000 residents of the cities of Chernobyl
and the much larger city of Pripyat. To this
day, these cities are abandoned due to the
lingering radiation. xiv The recent Fukushima
Daiichi disaster, triggered by a massive 9.0
earthquake off the coast of Japan, although
not as severe as the Chernobyl accident,
certainly had major repercussions on the
Japanese population. To this day, there
remains a twenty-kilometer evacuation
radius around the center, to avoid any
possible health repercussions.xv
Lastly, one of the major concerns
dealing with the issue of nuclear power is
that the implementation of nuclear power
also offers countries to potentially develop
nuclear weapons programs; this issue has
most notably been featured in Iran. Iran
believes it has the right to pursue its own
nuclear power program; however, many
western powers do not trust them to
develop such a program, and thus have
placed crippling sanctions on the nation. xvi
25th,
2015
states to collect and to share data in order
to improve development for more advanced
and
safer
nuclear
reactors
and
technologies. The Nuclear Infrastructure
Development Section (NIDS) help to
provide technical support and assist nations
in the development of their nuclear
programs and powerplants. Lastly the
International Project on Innovative Nuclear
Reactors and Fuel Cycles (INPRO) helps to
continue to innovate and modernize the
technologies involved with nuclear energies
and reactors and bring nuclear energy to
the 21st century.
A/RES/32/50, titled the “Peaceful
use of nuclear energy for economic and
social
development”
recognizes
that
developing technologies are essential for
the safety of nuclear power, states that all
nations should be able to access new
technology to ensure the safety of nuclear
power, and encourages countries to form an
international conference to discuss the
peaceful purposes of nuclear power and
cooperation
between
countries.
Furthermore, this resolution asks all
countries to abide by past and existing
programs and training suggested for the
workers in the nuclear power field.xvii At the
sixty-ninth session of General Assembly,
during the 37th and 38th meetings, the
General Assembly discussed their support
for the IAEA and the use of atomic energy
for technology and safety in developing
countries, specifically nuclear protection.
The IAEA’s Director General, Yukiya
Amano, had discussed the benefits of using
nuclear power for technology and cancer
therapy. Furthermore, Amano had reiterated
that the IAEA had already provided nuclear
technology for equipment in countries such
as Liberia, where the Ebola virus was
present.xviii
United Nations Involvement
As the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) has made clear throughout
its history, its main objectives are to assist
its member states by helping them find safe
ways of using nuclear sciences and
technologies through peaceful means and
uses. The IAEA has formed its own Division
for Nuclear Power in which there are two
sections and two groups to each further
pursue its goals and ideals. The two
divisions
are
the
Nuclear
Power
Engineering Section (NPES) which helps
member states improve the engineering of
their nuclear energy programs, and the
Nuclear Power Technology Development
Section (NPTDS) which allows for
collaboration between it and its member
Case Study: Fukushima
Daiichi Nuclear Disaster
6
1905 Main Street Huntington Beach, CA 92648 I hbhsmun.webs.com I ga.novice36@gmail.com
IAEA
April
Due to the major earthquake and
tsunami that struck Japan on March 11,
2011, the three Fukushima Daiichi reactors
inside the power plant were disabled,
resulting in a nuclear accident.xix Located in
Sendai on the eastern part of the Honshu
Islands, what was known as the Great East
Japan Earthquake registered on the Richter
scale at a shocking 9.0 magnitude, lasting
for approximately three minutes. xx The
tsunami began on the eastern coast at 560
square kilometers, resulting in an estimated
19,000 deaths, the loss of electricity and
gas, and the collapse of many buildings
throughout the town. Tepco’s Fukushima
Daiichi 1 through 3 and Fukushima Daini 1
through 4, Tohoku’s Onagawa 1-3, and
Japco’s Tokai are the eleven reactors that
were shut down at the four nuclear power
plants; however, Tepco’s Fukushima Daiichi
units 1 through 3 caused the most damage.
Fukushima Daiichi units were specifically
designed to have emergency shutdowns if
an emergency ever presented itself. Due to
the tsunami, the emergency technology
located in the reactors never disabled.
Furthermore, the cooling technologies were
never activated, which stopped the flow of
water to the reactors. According to Tepco,
hydrogen from the chemical combination of
25th,
2015
water and steam built up in the upper region
of the reactors, which allegedly caused the
explosions that followed suit. xxi The effects
were detrimental and on March 19, just
eight days after the accident, radioactive
iodine was found in the tap water and all
people living within twenty kilometers of the
site were required to evacuate.xxii On March
24, 2011, the workers were spraying
seawater on the units but Unit 1 still
remained at a temperature of about 400
degrees Celsius, over one hundred degrees
above the original designed maximum
temperature. xxiii The effects of the
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster can
even be seen today. On February 20, 2014,
one hundred metric tons of TEPCO’s
contaminated water from the accident
leaked into the ground and, upon further
investigation, TEPCO discovered that over
three hundred metric tons of radioactive
waste had leaked from the power plant.xxiv
The accident at the Fukushima Daiichi units
1, 2, and 3 holds such significance in the
topic of nuclear power, as it has raised
awareness to the safety and management
of nuclear power, as well as the
longstanding effects on the citizens and
environment due to such incidents.
Questions to Consider
Radioactive Waste Management:
1. Has your country signed any treaties prohibiting or allowing the export of radioactive
waste?
2. Does your country export nuclear wastes to other countries? If not, where are
radioactive wastes stored?
3. What actions has your country taken to ensure that radioactive wastes are properly
secured?
4. How will exporting nuclear wastes to countries with struggling economies affect the
citizens of that region?
5. To improve the lives of those in a region where nuclear wastes are prone to leakage,
what measures can be taken to ensure safe living conditions and a safe environment?
7
1905 Main Street Huntington Beach, CA 92648 I hbhsmun.webs.com I ga.novice36@gmail.com
IAEA
April
25th,
2015
Access to Nuclear Power:
1. Does your country believe that nuclear power can be used in a safe, sustainable way?
2. What measures has your country taken to ensure that nuclear power is used for the
good of its citizens for electricity and other civilian purposes?
3. Does your country hold nuclear power plants and how is safety ensured throughout the
receptors?
4. Has your country had any accidents regarding nuclear power?
5. Does your country believe that the risks of nuclear power can be stopped through the
use of new technologies?
i
http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Nuclear-Fuel-Cycle/Nuclear-Wastes/Radioactive-Waste-Management/
http://www.nei.org/Issues-Policy/Nuclear-Waste-Management
iii
http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Nuclear-Fuel-Cycle/Nuclear-Wastes/Waste-Management-Overview/
iv
http://www.nei.org/Issues-Policy/Nuclear-Waste-Management
v
http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2010/ph240/thompson2/
ii
vi
http://www1.american.edu/ted/NKORNUKE.htm
http://www.greens.org/s-r/14/14-22.html
viii
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2013/03/02/2003556051
ix http://taiwaninfo.nat.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=14905&CtNode=103&htx_TRCategory=&mp=4
x
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/detox/electronics/the-e-wasteproblem/where-does-e-waste-end-up/
xi http://www.nytimes.com/1997/02/07/world/north-korea-agrees-to-take-taiwan-atom-waste-forcash.html
vii
xii
http://www.scientificamerican.com/topic/nuclear-power/
xiii
www.darvill.clara.net/altenerg/nuclear.htm
www.theguardian.com/environment/nuclearpower
xiv
xv
xvi
http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Country-Profiles/Countries-T-Z/USA--Nuclear-Power/
http://www.reuters.com/subjects/nuclear-power
http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/19/world/asia/japan-fukushima-daiichi-water-leak/
http://www.oecd-nea.org/press/2011/NEWS-04.html
xix
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/nuclear/safety/accidents/Fukushimanuclear-disaster/
xx
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/decommision/planaction/stabilization-e.html
xxi http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/decommision/accident/report-e.html
xxii http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Safety-and-Security/Safety-of-Plants/Fukushima-Accident/
xxiii
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/decommision/index-e.html
xxiv http://www.un.org/press/en/2014/ga11578.doc.htm
xvii
xviii
8
1905 Main Street Huntington Beach, CA 92648 I hbhsmun.webs.com I ga.novice36@gmail.com