|
New
Release -- Superconductor Week does not edit or endorse the following
news release:
Happy Birthday Euratom!
Brussels, Belgium, 23 March 2007:
Two treaties were signed in Rome on 25 March 1957, but at the celebrations
marking the 50th birthday of the European Union this year, one is guaranteed to
get far more attention than the other.
While the more famous of the treaties established the European Economic
Community (EEC), later to become the European Community (EC) and then the
European Union (EU), a second created the European Atomic Energy Community, more
commonly known then and now as
Euratom.
It is no wonder that the EEC Treaty will be at the forefront of the celebrations
- it was the beginning of the most ambitious project ever to create a
supranational community of sovereign states. Members were willing to hand over
at least some of their national competences to a set of institutions based
predominantly in Brussels.
But the creation of Euratom, and its 50-year existence, are also no mean feat.
CORDIS News spoke to Simon Webster, Head of Unit for Nuclear Fission and
Radiation Protection within the European Commission's Research DG, to find out
more about Euratom's history, as well as its future.
'European research' was conceived for the first time in the Euratom Treaty, and
it put in place the provisions for the Community research programmes that were
to follow later. 'It was very innovative at the time. We have to thank the
founders of the Treaty for their vision in this regard,' says Mr Webster.
Though comprising the same Member States, Euratom is juridically distinct from
the rest of the European Community. It uses the same institutions, but the major
difference is that while the European Parliament is consulted, the Council alone
acts as the legislature. When is comes to the adoption of the Euratom research
programmes, the Member States need to agree unanimously. This was not so much of
a problem when there were only six Member States, but it can be a different
story now that there are 27.
Euratom has eight tasks, or areas of competence, as set out in the Treaty. These
include establishing uniform safety standards to protect workers and members of
the public, facilitating investment in and ensuring the establishment of the
basic installations necessary for developing nuclear energy, ensuring that all
users receive a regular and equitable supply of ores and nuclear fuels, and
making sure that civil nuclear materials are not used for military purposes.
Another task is research. The Community is charged with promoting research and
ensuring the dissemination of technical information. Under the Seventh Euratom
Framework Programme for nuclear research and training, which runs from 2007
until 2011, a funding envelope of €2,751 million is available, of which €1,947
million is for fusion research (including ITER), €517 million for the nuclear
activities of the Joint Research Centre (which was set up under the Treaty), and
€287 million for indirect actions in nuclear fission and radiation protection,
for which the Commission publishes calls for proposals at regular intervals.
Unlike funding for the larger European Community framework programme and (thanks
to ITER) that for fusion research, which have increased substantially, Euratom's
budgetary increases in the area of nuclear fission and radiation protection have
merely stayed level with inflation. 'This will impact on our effectiveness, and
the ability of Europe as a whole to keep pace with the nuclear renaissance
worldwide,' says Mr Webster. In addition, because of the different legal bases,
the Euratom programme does not have access to some of the additional funding
mechanisms available under the EC framework programmes.
The fusion community has also managed to come together more than the fission
community. In fact, 'Fusion is the only area, including those in the non-nuclear
field, where there is a true European Research Area. This is mainly because
there are no national interests at stake in fusion. In fission we can have the
same problems as any other area - fragmentation and duplication,' says Mr
Webster. Another important difference is that while Euratom provides between 30%
and 40% of funding for fusion research in Europe, the figure is more like 5% for
fission.
Asked what Euratom has achieved over the last 50 years, Mr Webster cites the
joint execution of research and in particular the increased structuring effect
of the Community programmes, for example in the management of radioactive waste
and geological disposal. Safe management and disposal of radioactive waste is a
problem faced by all EU countries, as hospitals as well as nuclear power
stations produce it. The shared challenge has therefore made research very
amenable to EU funding.
The structuring referred to by Mr Webster is set to be strengthened further, as
two potential European Technology Platforms are in the pipeline. This
willingness to collaborate more tightly, certainly in the area of development of
new reactor technology, demonstrates a clear desire and need within the research
sector to act at a Community level, believes Mr Webster.
The most effective cooperation is in those fields where there are shared
concerns amongst Member States, such as waste and nuclear safety, or where the
research is more fundamental and less applied, with commercialisation being a
long way down the line (which includes fusion). With growing concerns over
energy, there is also increased interest in the area of innovative fission
technology. 'What is being achieved here in Euratom is impressive, and despite
the limited budget our collaborative actions are making a major contribution.
Once we move to industrial deployment, commercial competition and IPR
[intellectual property rights] issues will naturally put a brake on the extent
of cooperation as well as the need for Community support,' Mr Webster told
CORDIS News.
In addition, Euratom research has supported extensive studies on health effects
including the medical and industrial uses of ionising radiation, and actively
supports training initiatives and the diffusion of knowledge across the whole
nuclear science field.
Projects funded under the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) include ESDRED, which
is investigating various repository construction techniques. The 13-partner,
€18.4 million project is examining the engineering and technological development
in the construction of repositories for the disposal of radioactive waste
several hundred metres below the Earth's surface.
RISC-RAD is attempting to quantify the risks associated with low and protracted
doses of radiation. Knowledge of the effects of low radiation doses has
significantly more gaps than knowledge on high-intensity exposure. In
particular, the consortium is focusing on damage to DNA, genomic instability and
radiation-induced cancer.
The side-effects of radiation are tackled from a different angle by the PERFECT
project. In nuclear power stations, components are frequently exposed to
radiation that limits their operation life. Combining understanding of the
phenomena involved and computer sciences have resulted in tools capable of
simulating the effects of irradiation on the mechanical and corrosion properties
of materials. The PERFECT team is further developing these predictive tools and
applying them to reactor pressure vessels and internal structures.
Continuing the work initiated by several smaller EC-supported projects since
1998, the RAPHAEL Integrated Project meanwhile is addressing the performance of
individual system elements involved in an innovative system for the next
generation of nuclear power plants, as well as its viability. The Very High
Temperature Reactor (VHTR) would supply both electricity and heat for industrial
applications.
Despite criticism of the Euratom Treaty as a result of its sidelining of the
European Parliament, nobody is expecting any changes to the Euratom Treaty for
the foreseeable future. Changes would require unanimity amongst the Member
States, which is unthinkable in the current climate, where national
sensitivities over nuclear issues mean that countries simply agree to disagree
regarding the more promotional aspects of the Treaty. But in the current climate
of concern over energy supply and damage to the environment from carbon
emissions, now might be an opportune moment to reflect on what Euratom has
achieved, and what else nuclear research could do for Europe.
Return
to industry news releases |
