Press release
Paris, 4 June 1996

Future financial liabilities of nuclear activities

Preparations are in hand in several countries for the disposal of highly radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel, and there is a growing number of projects to decommission nuclear facilities such as nuclear power plants. There is increasing interest among policy makers and the general public in the future financing of these activities, notably within the context of the current trend towards the privatisation of the nuclear sector. The Nuclear Energy Agency, therefore, commissioned a study to complement earlier work on the costs of nuclear electricity generation, including waste management and disposal and decommissioning.

"Future Financial Liabilities of Nuclear Activities" is the first comprehensive international review of the policies and schemes in place in NEA member countries for recognising, reporting and funding financial liabilities arising from the operation and decommissioning of nuclear facilities. The nuclear activities considered include uranium mining and milling, fuel-cycle service supply, power generation, reprocessing, waste management, research centres and isotope production.

The results, conclusions and recommendations contained in this report will be useful to policy makers, notably from governmental agencies and electricity utilities.


Future Financial Liabilities of Nuclear Activities
OECD, Paris, 1996
ISBN 92-64-14795-0

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