ABSTRACT
The 1986 Chernobyl disaster was a ‘wake-up call’ to the nuclear industry, national governments and the international community about the potential transboundary effects of nuclear disasters. It demonstrated the truism that global nuclear safety requires a global, not purely national, approach. It led, in record time, to the emergence of a true international, legally-binding nuclear safety regime where hitherto there had only been a patchwork of largely voluntary arrangements. Numerous other initiatives were taken by industry, government and international bodies to strengthen global governance of nuclear safety. The regime remains, however, sprawling and loosely integrated, reflecting its episodic and largely uncoordinated evolution. It comprises legally binding international conventions; non-binding international safety standards; programmes to facilitate the implementation of those standards by international organizations and multinational networks; the efforts of the international nuclear industry itself; and the activities of the national nuclear infrastructure of each state, including venders, operators and regulators. Although serious accidents and safety breaches in any part of the civilian nuclear industry have implications for the reputation of the civilian nuclear industry generally, the focus here will be on the safety of nuclear reactors, since these are central to the nuclear revival and are an important concern for the public. Moreover, nuclear reactors are considered most at risk of a serious accident because they are designed to operate in a state of controlled criticality (Nuttall 2005: 37) and because a severe accident may release radioactivity not just locally but via atmospheric transport across a wide area, including over national borders.
