Radiological Weapons:  Concerns Remain on Safe Shipment of Radioactive Materials, ElBaradei Says

While the current radioactive material transportation regulatory system has an “excellent” safety record, concerns remain, the director of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency said yesterday (see GSN, June 2).

“Despite the strong safety record and general good performance in this area, some concerns remain regarding the transport of radioactive material,” International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohamed ElBaradei told the opening session of a weeklong conference in Vienna on the safe transport of radioactive materials.

ElBaradei said he hoped the conference would examine the application of the current regulatory system and possible new measures to improve the system.  One concern is how information on radioactive material shipments is transmitted between countries and between governments and the general public, he said.

“Clear advance notification of shipments is clearly desirable; however, this objective competes with the need, from a safety and security perspective, to withhold such information from all but authorized government personnel,” ElBaradei said.  “This issue requires further in-depth discussion, with a view to reaching an agreed understanding on how to reconcile the need for transparency with the requirements for security,” he said (U.N. release, July 7).

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