No Safeguards

No Safeguards, the first book in a trilogy, follows Jay's life from age six to twenty-six - and to a lesser extent that of his brother Paul. We witness the destructive impact of fundamentalist Christian beliefs on his mother and father, opposition to those beliefs by the boys' grandmother and each boy's very different response to their parents' religiosity. This is especially poignant after they leave their grandmother's comfortable home in St Vincent to join their mother in Montreal. The revelation that both boys are gay adds to their sense of oppression and divides them from their mother, whose views on the subject are shaped by the church and the theology of the Torah.

This book, comprising contributions presented at the XIX Edoardo Amaldi Conference, examines important aspects of international cooperation aimed at enhancing nuclear safety, security, safeguards (the “3S”), and non-proliferation, thereby assisting in the development and maintenance of the verification regime and progress toward a nuclear weapon-free world. The Conference served as a forum where eminent scientists, diplomats, and policymakers could compare national perspectives and update international collaborations. The book opens by addressing the political, institutional, and legal dimensions of the 3S and non-proliferation; current challenges are discussed and attempts made to identify possible solutions and future improvements. Subsequent sections consider scientific developments that can contribute to increased effectiveness in the implementation of international regimes, particularly in critical areas, technology foresight, and the ongoing evaluation of current capabilities. The closing sections discuss scientific and technical challenges to the effective implementation of the 3S approach and the role of international cooperation and scientific community actions in leading the world toward peace and security.

Abstract: "Beginning in the late 1980s, Argentina implemented a series of reforms that were revolutionary in speed and scope, including trade liberalization. After the implementation of these policies, a record number of antidumping petitions came forward. Under a situation of high inflation, the government reinforced its fiscal and monetary policies by announcing that it would minimize the use of such measures. The flexible disciplines of the existing domestic antidumping regulations facilitated this objective. Later, when the GATT/WTO-sanctioned trade remedies were implemented, the government made a serious attempt to establish discipline by including liberal regulations and creating special institutional arrangements. A presumption built into the construction of the new mechanisms was that adhering to WTO requirements would strengthen the resistance against protection. This presumption turned out to be false. Changing circumstances, including severe peso overvaluation, had significant effects on the number and outcome of antidumping investigations. Regarding safeguards, the government followed the letter and the spirit of the WTO agreement. In relation to the number of petitions, few measures have been implemented. Rejections were based on a concern for consumer costs and on failure of the industry seeking protection to provide a convincing modernization plan. This, plus the fact that some cases were brought to the WTO Dispute Settlement Body, have made safeguards a less attractive instrument for protection-seekers than antidumping. An important positive side of the story is that unlike previous balance of payments adjustments, in spite of the major crisis that followed the recent devaluation, the hard-won liberalization has been maintained."--World Bank web site.

The focus of attention in this book centres on the regional nuclear safeguards system implemented in Western Europe by EURATOM, the issues surrounding its establishement and the reasons to account for its so-far enduring character.

The 1990s saw significant developments in the global non-proliferation landscape, resulting in a new period of safeguards development. The current publication, which is the second revision and update of IAEA/NVS/1, is intended to give a full and balanced description of the safeguards techniques and equipment used for nuclear material accountancy, containment and surveillance measures, environmental sampling, and data security. New features include a section on new and novel technologies. As new verification measures continue to be developed, the material in this book will be reviewed periodically and updated versions issued.

This publication is part of a series that aims to inform nuclear facility designers, vendors, operators and State governments about IAEA safeguards and how associated requirements can be considered early in the design phase of a new nuclear facility. This particular publication is applicable to the design and construction of commercial uranium enrichment plants. Safeguards by design dialogue undertaken early in the design and construction of enrichment plants facilitates the implementation of safeguards throughout all the life cycle stages of the facility. The potential to reduce costs, avoid retrofits and achieve efficiencies, both for the operator and for IAEA Member States, are important drivers for the early consideration of safeguards in a nuclear facility design project.