8 Apr (NucNet): A nuclear security agreement that will take effect on 8 May 2016 will reduce the risk of a terrorist attack on a nuclear power plant and make it harder to smuggle nuclear material, the International Atomic Energy Agency said today.
The IAEA said the entry into force of the Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM) was secured today with the deposit of the instrument of ratification by Nicaragua, which brought the number of adherences to 102, the threshold required for the agreement to come into effect in 30 days.
The IAEA said the Amendment, adopted more than a decade ago, will make it legally binding on countries to protect nuclear facilities.
It will also extend the CPPNM’s application to nuclear material in domestic use, storage and transport.
The CPPNM, the only legally binding international undertaking in the area of physical protection of nuclear material, entered into force in 1987.
Details online: http://bit.ly/1Vd6SbA
