Impact of the 2004 Paris Convention to the Transport of Nuclear Material

In 2004, contracting parties to the OECD Paris (and Brussels) Conventions signed Amending Protocols which brought the Paris Convention more into line with the IAEA Conventions amended or adopted in 1997. The principal objective of the amendments was to provide more compensation to more people for a wider scope of nuclear damage. The definition of \"nuclear damage\" was broadened to include environmental damage and economic costs, and the scope of application was widened, e.g. to include also damages from accidents during the transportation of nuclear substances. As a consequence, it could be interpreted in some cases that the transportation of nuclear substances is not covered by the insurance of the nuclear installation for which the transport is carried out or that each particular transport would have to be separately insured. The liability limits for the transportation of nuclear substances differ from country to country. However, large incidences with release of nuclear substances during transportation have never been reported. The Paris/Brussels amendments are not yet in force. They are expected to be ratified by the contracting parties shortly once they have consulted with industry stakeholders and then drafted the necessary amending legislation. This paper shows country specific differences in the implementation of the Paris/Brussels amendments for the shipment of nuclear substances.