The Ospar (Oslo-Paris) Commission has recognised that nuclear power is not the only source of radioactive discharges into the marine environment.
At the five-yearly Ospar Commission meeting, the European environment ministers recognised that they must include radioactive discharges from outside the nuclear sector, principally from the offshore oil and gas industries, and from the phosphate industry and medical sector. A statement from the June meeting read: “In the light of the Marina II study by the European Commission, and taking into account new information from contracting parties and other studies, we shall ensure that discharges, emissions and losses of radioactive substances from sources outside the nuclear industry equally comply with the Radioactive Substances Strategy.”
