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15 Ecology L.Q. 203 (1988)

handle is hein.journals/eclawq15 and id is 217 raw text is: Transboundary Nuclear Accidents: The Post-Chernobyl Multilateral Legislative Agenda* Gunther Handl** INTRODUCTION The nuclear reactor accident at Chernobyl profoundly highlighted the global scale of states' environmental interdependence. The shift in perception wrought by the accident attests to its powerful impact. Until Chernobyl, the safety aspects of constructing, siting, and operating na- tional nuclear power reactors' generally were considered matters of do- mestic concern, with neighboring countries possessing only a limited legal interest. The accident seriously undermined the viability of this view by demonstrating that the hazards of nuclear power operations are' intrinsically international in dimension. People the world over realized that national boundaries are chimerical in an age of nuclear power production. Accompanying this startling realization was the disturbing discov- ery that the international community is ill prepared to cope with the heightened interdependence entailed by modern life. The diminished au- tarky of contemporary states has not led to a commensurate development of international institutions and processes necessary to manage and con- trol the problems characteristic of increased global interdependence. Chernobyl brought into sharp relief the need to internationalize the nu- clear decisionmaking processes of nation-states to the extent national de- cisions implicate the legitimate safety interests of other countries and of the world as a whole. Chernobyl also made abundantly clear that pres- Copyright © 1988 by GUNTHER HANDL * The author wishes to thank Andronico Adede, Bram Brands, and Henn-Jiiri Uibopuu for generously sharing information on the issues discussed in this Article, and the Richard J. and Elizabeth Schomer Foundation for its financial support of the research for this Article. An earlier version of the Article was published as Aprds Tchernobyl: Quelques reflexions sur le programme Idgislatif multilatdral d l'ordre du jour, 92 REVUE GENERAL DE DROIT INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC 5 (1988). ** Professor, Wayne State University Law School; J.S.D. 1978, Yale Law School; LL.B. 1973, Cambridge University; Dr. iur. 1968, University of Graz. 1. Under certain circumstances, other nuclear fuel cycle facilities, such as fuel reproces- sing plants, also might pose significant risks of accidental transboundary harm. Unless other- wise indicated, however, this Article discusses only the transnational safety implications of nuclear power reactors.

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