FOREWORD
Energy is essential for human life. Urbanization, industrialization and a rising standard of living
will lead to growing energy demand. This is a major factor which will give rise to increasing use of energy in the form of electricity. In some highly industrialized countries the relative rate of growth in energy demand is slowing down, and in some countries the demand may even be decreasing, but this is more than offset by increased rates of growth in the developing countries. At the same time, health and environmental concerns are high on the agenda of decision makers and the public, as shown by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (1992), the World Energy Council (1992) and the Helsinki Symposium (1991).
Despite conservation and increased efficiency in the use of energy, a variety of economically available energy sources will have to be used to meet future energy demands. The selection of appropriate energy sources is a policy matter for national authorities and involves economic, environ-mental and technical issues, including availability of national resources and balance of payments. The environ-mental
constraints and advantages of the various energy sources need to be objectively analysed. The use of any energy source has some effect on the environment. It is difficult to compare the impacts on environment and public health of all energy sources, but such comparisons are necessary if well informed decisions are to be made.
To improve the ability for comparative assessment of energy chains for electricity generation, IAEA has been carrying out a project Comparative Assessment of the Health and Environmental Impact of Nuclear Power and Other Energy Systems as part of Subprogramme X.03: Comparative Assessment
of Nuclear Power and Other Energy Sources, in co-operation with other international organizations.
Part of this programme is the DECADES (Database and Methodologies for Comparative
Assessment of Different Energy Sources for Electricity Generation) project. DECADES is an inter-agency joint project to establish the databases and methods needed to carry out comparative assessment of different energy sources for electricity generation. The objective of the DECADES project is to enhance the capabilities of incorporating health and environmental issues in the planning and decision making of the electricity sector.
The purpose of the present publication is to give a generic description of health and environmental aspects of nuclear fuel cycle facilities. Primarily the report is meant to stand alone; however, because of
the content of the publication and in the context of the DECADES project, it may serve as a means of introducing specialists in other fuel cycles to the nuclear fuel cycle.
The report consists of three parts. Part I reviews health and environmental aspects of nuclear fuel cycle facilities. Part I contains site reports and Part I includes country reports which were presented at a series of Technical Committee Meetings held between December 1992 and November 1994 on the
Health and Environmental Impacts of Nuclear Fuel Cycle Facilities.
The present work began in 1992 and involved five consultants meetings and three Technical
Committee meetings. The IAEA wishes to express its gratitude to all those who participated in the preparation of this publication and also to the Member States that sent experts to assist the IAEA in this work. Special thanks are due to R. J. Maloney, Atomic Energy Control Board, Canada, who edited the text for technical content and prepared it for publication.
* The reporti is dowenloaded in this site for educational and not for any commercial perposes
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