U.S. derails amendment to toughen nuclear safety pact: diplomats
Source: Reuters
U.S. derails amendment to toughen nuclear safety pact: diplomats
BY SHADIA NASRALLA
VIENNA Mon Feb 9, 2015 12:48pm EST
(Reuters) - The United States has derailed a proposal to toughen nuclear safety standards by amending a global atomic treaty, diplomats said, with opponents of the move arguing it would get mired in lengthy parliamentary ratification.
Months of wrangling about the future of the 77-nation Convention on Nuclear Safety (CNS) culminated at a Vienna meeting diplomats feared could expose divisions over safety standards four years after the Fukushima disaster in Japan.
Switzerland had put forward a proposal to amend the CNS, arguing stricter standards could help avoid a repeat of Fukushima, where an earthquake and tsunami sparked triple nuclear meltdowns, forced more than 160,000 people to flee nearby towns and contaminated water, food and air.
But Russia and the United States opposed an amendment of the CNS, diplomats told Reuters.
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/09/us-nuclear-safety-idUSKBN0LD22520150209