Germany criticizes voluntary nature of global nuclear safety plan

The German envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency has attacked the institution's new global nuclear safety plan, calling it too weak. But the major nuclear powers support the proposal's voluntary nature.Germany has expressed disappointment with a watered-down plan drafted by members of the International Atomic Energy Agency that aims to boost international nuclear safety standards in response to the Fukushima disaster in Japan.The plan, set to be voted on this week, includes a series of measures such as peer reviews and IAEA safety checks designed to prevent another accident at one of the world's roughly 430 nuclear reactors. Such checks, however, can only be carried out "upon request" of the nations involved.Germany's chief IAEA representative expressed concern that the voluntary nature of the provisions and the vagueness of the plan did not go far enough to ensure nuclear safety at the global level."It is a matter of regret that the draft now before us does not fully meet our expectations," Rüdiger Lüdeking, the German envoy, told a meeting of the IAEA's 35-member board."The IAEA and all its member states have to live up to their joint responsibility to ensure that nuclear technology is as safe as humanely possible," he said.Germany took a particularly aggressive stance against nuclear energy in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster in March, passing legislation to phase out the country's nuclear plants by 2022.Despite the criticism, the safety plan is likely to be passed by the IAEA since member states have little will to oppose it.Major nuclear powers such as China, India, Pakistan, Russia and the United States support the current version of the plan and believe nuclear safety regulation should be left to national governments.IAEA chief Yukiya Amano, meanwhile, said the plan would lead to better safety standards."Adoption of the action plan is a significant step forward," Amano said. "This action plan is a good one."Amano went on to say that an explosion at a nuclear waste treatment facility in southern France on Monday demonstrates the need to take action on nuclear safety.