221 



required also when such experiments are likely to affect the territories 

 of other member states. 



As for the disposal of radioactive wastes, each signatory is obligated 

 to submit to Euratom "such general data concerning any plan for the 

 disposal of any kind of radioactive waste as will enable the Commission 

 to determine whether the implementation of such plan is likely to 

 involve radioactive contamination of the water, soil or airspace of 

 such member states." 213 



Euratom has used its authority to : 214 



(1) establish regulations providing for uniform safety radia- 

 tion standards throughout the Community ; 



(2) standardize and coordinate methods for the measurement 

 and control of environmental radioactivity ; 



(3) review plans for reactor installations and their radioactive 

 waste disposal systems ; and 



(4) study the movement of radioactive substances in the en- 

 vironment and safety aspects of nuclear marine propulsion. 



Euratom and Environmental Effects of Nuclear Power 



The Treaty of Rome is silent on the issue of environmental protec- 

 tion, a matter of growing U.S. and European concern since the late 

 1960s. Euratom has no statutory functions of ascertaining and con- 

 trolling the environmental effects of nuclear power and fuel reprocess- 

 ing plants. Should the public in Europe show the same interest and 

 concern in environmental quality as has been shown in the United 

 States, there could be proposals to extend Euratom's authorkv^ accord- 

 ingly. Such a development could pose a troublesome issue for U.S. 

 foreign policy. Recognition of Euratom's authority as an international 

 body to examine and approve design, construction and operation of 

 nuclear power plants within its member states could set a precedent 

 for international control that might be embarassing were continental 

 neighbors of the United States to seek such review of U.S. nuclear 

 plants built near their common borders with this country. For example, 

 it could point the way for continental neighbors of the United States 

 to request some voice in the siting, design, construction, and operation 

 of domestic nuclear power plants near U.S. national boundaries or on 

 rivers and bodies of water shared with neighboring countries. Con- 

 ceding such a voice to neighbor states would mark a shift in U.S. 

 foreign policy, a shift likely to be opposed by those who attach great 

 importance to preserving the sovereign powers of the United States. 



Duplication and Dilution of Effort 



Euratom, the Nuclear Energy Agency of the OECD (see section 

 IX), and the International Atomic Energy Agency overlap in many 

 of their interests and activities. The Common Market nations and Eura- 

 tom itself are members of the OECD's Nuclear Energy Agency. Com- 

 ing into existence in 1958 one month after Euratom, the NEA was 

 organized to promote international nuclear cooperation rather than 

 supranational nuclear integration. The Nuclear Energy Agency was 

 supported by the British as a counter-project to make atomic integra- 

 tion of the Six less attractive. It is interesting, in this context, that the 

 first European plant for chemical reprocessing of used nuclear fuels 



213 \rticle 37. 



214 Compilation of National and International Standards. Oak Ridge, Tenn. : Oak Ridge 

 National Laboratory, Nuclear Safety Information Center, Report No. ORNL-NSIC-78, 

 (October, 1970), t>. 44. 



