21 September 1998
("International cooperation key to safe nuclear future") (2260)
Vienna -- "International cooperation is the key to a safe and secure
nuclear future," Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson, head of the U.S.
Delegation to the 42nd Session of the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) General Conference, said at a September 21 press
conference.
Richardson noted that the meeting "is the largest nuclear
non-proliferation safety and cooperation meeting of the year" and that
"the nuclear tests conducted by India and Pakistan underscore the
importance of the entry into force of the Comprehensive Test Ban
Treaty and of achieving a Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty."
He outlined six areas in which it was important to make progress,
ranging from nuclear arsenals to the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
Richardson also summarized five announcement he made in a speech
earlier in the day:
1) The Department of Energy (DOE) will soon resume canning of spent
fuel from North Korea's closed nuclear reactor -- fuel that might
otherwise be available for weapons.
2) DOE will soon launch a nuclear energy research initiative;
3) The United States will provide a cost-free expert to the IAEA to
help assess nuclear safety risks associated with the Y2K computer
problem.
4) The United States will host an international conference on geologic
repositories for the storage of spent fuel and radioactive waste; and
5) DOE will donate surplus isotopes for medical treatments and
diagnosis to the IAEA's Agency Coordinated Research Program, which is
working on the treatment of heart disease, cancer and relief of bone
pain.
Also at the press conference were Dr. Ernest Moniz, under secretary of
energy, and Rose Gottemoeller, director of DOE Office of Non
Proliferation and National Security.
Following is a transcript of the press conference:
(Begin transcript)
Press Conference with Secretary of Energy
and Head of the U.S. Delegation to the IAEA
Mr. Bill Richardson
Vienna, Austria
September 21, 1998
Other participants:
Dr. Ernest Moniz, Under Secretary of Energy
Ms. Rose Gottemoeller, Director of DOE Office of Non Proliferation and
National Security
SECRETARY RICHARDSON: Let me outline the speech that I just gave in
terms of what is new and what is not new and what our objectives are
here, and then take your questions.
First, the importance of this meeting and the work to be accomplished:
this meeting in Vienna is the largest nuclear non-proliferation safety
and cooperation meeting of the year. International cooperation is the
key to a safe and secure nuclear future. This meeting comes at a very
important time. Why? Because the nuclear tests conducted by India and
Pakistan underscore the importance of the entry into force of the
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and of achieving a Fissile Material
Cutoff Treaty. The United States feels that we have to make progress
in the following six areas:
1) Nuclear arsenals that are still too large;
2) Vast amounts of fissile material released from nuclear reductions;
3) Nuclear weapon production complexes that need to be redirected to
peaceful missions;
4) Unresolved proliferation questions in Iraq and North Korea;
5) The geological disposable civilian nuclear materials and the safe
use of nuclear power;
6) Peaceful, humanitarian applications of the atom that have only just
begun to be tapped.
Today I made five announcements in my speech, which I am sure you were
listening to very closely!
1) The Department of Energy will soon resume canning of the spent fuel
from North Korea's closed nuclear reactor -- fuel that might otherwise
be available for weapons. This is because progress has been made in
our talks with the North Koreans in New York.
2) The Department of Energy will soon launch a nuclear energy research
initiative to promote research and development on advanced nuclear
power systems with enhanced nuclear reactor safety systems while
meeting our non-proliferation economic and environmental goals.
3) The United States will provide a cost-free expert to the IAEA to
help assess nuclear safety risks associated with the Y2K computer
problem.
4) The United States will host an international conference on geologic
repositories for the storage of spent fuel and radioactive waste. This
conference will be in the middle of next year in either the states of
Nevada or New Mexico.
5) The Department of Energy will donate surplus isotopes for medical
treatments and diagnosis to the IAEA's Agency Coordinated Research
Program; that involves experts from 14 countries working on the
treatment of heart disease, cancer and relief of bone pain.
In bilateral meetings over the next two day, I'll be meeting with my
counterparts from other nations to try to make progress on these
important issues and others. I hope tomorrow we will meet with you
again to discuss some developments and negotiations we have had with
Russia, Japan, China, France, South Africa, South Korea, Germany, and
with the Executive Director of the IAEA. With me are the Director of
the Department of Energy for Nuclear Proliferation and many other
national security issues, Rose Gottemoeller, and the Under Secretary
of Energy, Dr. Ernest Moniz. So I am pleased to answer any questions.
QUESTION: As you know, Mr. Secretary, Iraq has cut their cooperation
with the UN, UNSCOM and the IAEA. What are you going to do to
implement the UN resolution on Iraq?
SECRETARY RICHARDSON: Well, first of all, Iraq is in violation of UN
Security Council resolutions. They have repudiated the Secretary
General's agreement, his Memorandum of Understanding. The United
Nations Security Council has been united in keeping sanctions on Iraq,
to the point that sanctions reviews have now been eliminated. The
United States, as an individual nation, is keeping all options on the
table to ensure that Iraq complies.
This is a very serious situation. Saddam Hussein has been trying to
goad the United States and other nations into taking precipitous
action. We are going to work with the international community to
resolve this issue. But the net result is that the nuclear file has
not been closed. Iraq is still in substantial violation of numerous
Security Council resolutions. Chemical and biological weapons still
need to be addressed; [the Iraqis] have not been open -- they have
been concealing. And lastly, they are becoming even more isolated in
the Security Council, with less support from Security Council members.
So it seems to us that Iraq is losing this battle. To even be
considered for any type of relief, they should comply with these
Security Council resolutions.
QUESTION: I am doing a documentary on nuclear energy. Mr. Secretary,
please forgive me for asking a very general question. In the United
States in the last decade, there have been no nuclear power plants
built and European countries like Germany are considering the closure
of nuclear plants. What do you see as the future of nuclear energy? Is
this the energy form of the 21st century?
SECRETARY RICHARDSON: Nuclear power accounts for nearly 20 percent of
the United States' electricity generation. We foresee that nuclear
power will remain an important component of our energy mix as we move
into the next millennium. Decisions on the future use of nuclear power
are going to continue to reside with our own electric utilities as
they plan to meet future energy needs in a cost-effective and
environmentally responsible manner. So the short answer is -- they
will remain as a viable option in our energy future.
Our ability to support nuclear power is possible because of the strong
oversight and safety record of our nuclear industry. We rely on a
strong regulatory regime overseen by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
-- the head of which, Dr. Shirley Jackson, is here for this meeting --
to ensure that nuclear power plants are operating in the safest manner
possible. Additionally, our department has supported the development
of advance reactors with enhanced safety features in hopes of
beginning additional activities through its nuclear energy research
initiative, which I just announced, to continue to address safety
issues.
Now, we do understand concern about the safety of some of the world's
oldest nuclear power plants, particularly those of Soviet design. To
address these concerns the United States, in cooperation with many
countries, supports efforts to improve the level of safety and
oversight at these plants and, where appropriate, to replace the
oldest and least safe reactors. We, the Department of Energy, are
currently working cooperatively with several countries in this area,
including Armenia, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Russia,
Ukraine, Lithuania, and Kazakstan to improve operational safety and
regulatory oversight.
QUESTION: What about the energy form of the 21st century? I want to
know if you think nuclear energy will be the energy form of the 21st
century. It started off quite high in the '50s, how will this continue
in the 21st century?
UNDER SECRETARY ERNEST MONIZ: First, as the Secretary emphasized, we
are of course continuing to use nuclear power for a large part of our
activity now. But more significantly, I would point at two things he
mentioned. One is that we are, as a federal agency, providing the
options for use of nuclear power by, for example, introducing this new
research program which he mentioned -- NERI (Nuclear Energy Research
Initiative) -- which will look at advance reactor types which are
passively safe for proliferation, resistant, and waste minimizing. The
ultimate decisions, as he emphasized, will be market decisions. But
particularly in the context of something like climate change, one
certainly has to maintain the option, and we are doing that through
the new research program which he announced.
In addition, it is perhaps arguable but I would suggest that the lead
issue in terms of public acceptance of further development of nuclear
power, at least in our country, is the nuclear waste disposal issue.
In that context, that is why the Secretary emphasized that next year
he will host a conference to bring international attention and
collaboration to that key issue. So I think those are the issues:
environmental issues will play a part both in terms of global change
and in terms of waste, and we will make sure that we have the
technical options available which could be attractive.
QUESTION: I am wondering, Mr. Secretary, if you could comment on what
you intend to accomplish on the trilateral initiative while you are
here at the conference, and also if any of your discussions with the
Russian Federation could be affected by the change in government with
Mr. Primakov?
SECRETARY RICHARDSON: Let me say on the second element that we expect
to make a substantial announcement with Russia tomorrow and we just
ask you not to leave the conference! We believe that there is
continuity in the Russian government. The Foreign Minister, Ivanov, is
a solid individual with great experience. Of course, we know Prime
Minister Primakov and we think there has been successful continuity in
the Russians' new leadership. On the trilateral initiative we are
going to meet this afternoon -- Russia, the United States and the head
of IAEA -- and we support the goals of the IAEA in this trilateral
initiative. Maybe tomorrow you can ask me a little bit more. But we
are supportive of the objectives of the IAEA and the United States and
we are working in collaboration on a number of initiatives.
QUESTION: About the expert for the millennium computer problem, it
seems very late to appoint such an expert, a little more than a year
before it may be happening. What can the expert do in one year?
SECRETARY RICHARDSON: First of all, he or she is a very good expert, I
know that, so it is going to be a very effective contribution. Number
two, you know this is an international problem, the Y2K computer
problem, one of the most fundamental issues we all need to overcome. I
believe that we are making progress in our own department. We have a
very active effort to deal with this problem at the Department of
Energy. As you know, we have some of the more sophisticated computers
in the world. I think every nation is working on this, this is
significant. This is a cost-free expert we are paying for, which
individual's salary and expenses are substantial here in Vienna, and
we think this will be a very credible individual. Do we know yet who
it will be, Ernie?
UNDERSECRETARY MONIZ: No, I don't think so.
SECRETARY RICHARDSON: We know he will be very good.
QUESTION: Can I ask a second question? Where are the worst problems
expected in this respect? In the older nuclear generators in Russia or
elsewhere?
ASSISTANT SECRETARY ROSE GOTTEMOELLER: Interestingly enough, some of
the older technologies make use of analog technologies, so it's not
quite the same difficulty that we encounter with some of the modern
computerized systems. So I think we have, as the Secretary indicated,
been working very vigorously with the Russians, the Ukrainians, others
here in Europe, in Eastern Europe particularly, on the problems of
enhancing the safety of the RBMK-style reactors and the VVR 1000
reactors. For the older systems, we do not predict the same degree of
concern with regard to the Y2K system simply because their safety
systems are not dependant so much on digital technology.
QUESTION: Do you expect to have any talks with the Indian or Pakistani
delegations about the issue of nuclear testing?
SECRETARY RICHARDSON: Yes, we will probably meet them in some capacity
here in the next two days.
Thank you all very much.
(End transcript)