U.S. participation in IEA energy R&D activities is carried out primarily by the DOE. DOE supports CRD programs to develop new energy technologies and to utilize R&D resources effectively by participating in the four Working Groups under the CRD (i.e., Pusion, Fossil Fuels, Renewables, and End-Use Technologies). DOE participates in some 30 Implementing Agreements and their numerous annexes, in national energy R&D reviews, and in various R&D policy studies. Support for these activities comes directly from DOE domestic program funds and staff, and the DOE International Affairs staff. For the most part, the agreements make possible the exchange of information, assignment of personnel, access to unique facilities, and coordination of programs that would not be possible on a multilateral basis without the CRD.

DOE does not have line items in its budget for international activities. International activities must compete within the DOE budget for priority, and are pursued only when they offer more benefit than existing domestic alternatives. DOE considers spending funds overseas only in exceptional circumstances, such as the existence of unique facilities and capabilities, or an opportunity to leverage funds in a joint undertaking. Where feasible, hardware to be provided overseas is made in the U.S. and then sent abroad for testing and development, or other uses.

IEA/CRD Initiatives Dealing with R&D Policy. The CRD brought to the attention of the IEA Governing Board in 1986 its concern over the impact of lower oil prices on energy R&D budgets. As a result, the CRD initiated an analysis of budgetary implications for energy R&D in the face of short-term oil market price fluctuations, particularly in light of the need for better information on the R&D activities of the private sector. The implications of the Chernobyl accident for energy R&D also are included in this effort. The CRD began developing specific proposals for actions to be taken in response to these events, and will prepare its recommendations for consideration by IEA Energy Ministers.

Enhanced Collaboration. Significant progress was made during 1986 in encouraging enhanced international collaboration in energy R&D through a series of workshops and thematic, in-depth reviews of selected IEA member countries. Four countries have volunteered to organize workshops. The first, co-sponsored by DOE and the IEA, was held in April, 1986 at Atlanta on the subject of coal liquefaction. The Atlanta session was well received and helped clarify the concept of international collaboration through the process of early consultation and joint program planning. Participants included representatives of IEA member nations, IEA staff officials, the European Community, and other non-IEA nations such as France, the People's Republic of China (PRC), Poland, India, South Korea, South Africa, Venezuela, and Yugoslavia. DOE also participated in a workshop on pressurized fluidized bed combustion hosted by Sweden in October, and a workshop on flue gas treatment hosted by Japan in November.

Thematic, in-depth reviews of IEA countries was an innovation begun in 1986 with focus on clean coal utilization and the prospects of international collaboration in the development of clean-coal technology. The U.S. was one of the countries selected for this type of review in 1986. The

reviews are to be an aid in pointing out areas appropriate for international collaboration, and are intended to be input into the workshops.

Three new IEA Agreements were signed in 1986. The U.S., Japan, and the European Community signed the "Large Tokamak Agreement in January; the U.S. with its large tokamak (TFtr), the European Community with its large tokamak (JET), and Japan with its large tokamak (JT-60) agreed to coordinate their research programs and to share information to ensure that these large, expensive machines are exploited to the best of the ability of the international fusion community. An agreement on multiphase flow also was signed in 1986. Under this Agreement, researchers will coordinate their national programs in common investigation of flow phenomena that affect the transportation, combustion, and conversion of fossil fuels. An Agreement on a Common Energy Technology Data Base was also concluded. Signatories to the agreement agreed to share abstracts of technical articles pertinent to energy R&D. The Office of Scientific and Technical Information acts as the international central coordinator repository and distributor for these technical abstracts.

Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA)

The OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) is a companion organization to the IEA. It serves as a technical forum in which experts from member countries regularly convene to exchange information and insights in the field of nuclear power. It also functions to harmonize national approaches as much as possible, and to allow cooperation on joint projects in areas of common interest. Like the IEA, the NEA operates through a series of committees comprised of member state representatives, and supported by a secretariat. The Standing Committees include Safety of Nuclear Installations, Radioactive Waste Management, Nuclear Fuel Cycle, and Radiation Protection and Public Health.

In the aftermath of the nuclear accident at Chernobyl in the Soviet Union on April 26, 1986, the NEA Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI) considered what additional tasks it might undertake to assist member states in areas such as severe accidents, short-term release of radioactive particles during severe accidents, and operational problems. For the latter activity, NEA had developed and implemented an Incident Reporting System consisting of a computerized data base of significant events at operating power plants used to analyze possible precursors to failure of safety systems. NEA is working with the IAEA to enhance and harmonize a similar system in Vienna.

The Committee on Radiation Protection and Public Health (CRPPH) provides for the transfer of national experience on radiologic issues and public health. CRPPH activities encompass studies of radiation exposure of personnel operating nuclear facilities and members of the general public, the transfer of radiation throughout the biosphere, and the harmonized application to commercial nuclear facilities of recommendations developed by the International Committee on Radiological Protection (ICRP). CRPPH is developing procedures

and standards in response to the Chernobyl accident for radiation dose measurements and reporting, and is investigating better modes of communicating radiation issues and concepts to the general public.

The Committee on Technical and Economic Studies on Nuclear Energy Development and the Fuel Cycle (FCC) has responsibility for the assessment of past and future contributions of nuclear power to energy supplies and the impact of new technologies on these contributions. In light of Chernobyl, the FCC began two important activities in 1986. The first is a review (jointly with the IEA) of the possible impacts of the accident on OECD/NEA member nuclear programs, (e.g., a slowdown in the deployment of new generating capacity and the implications of such a slowdown for energy security). The second major focus is to convine experts to study new technologies that can augment safety and reliability of existing plants through retrofits. The experts also will consider advanced technologies leading to new reactor design concepts with passive and more forgiving safety features, such as those that respond naturally, without mechanical intervention, to limit the progress of an accident.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

As a result of the accident at Chernobyl, the Soviet Union agreed to make a presentation August 25-29, 1986 to a special meeting of experts under the IAEA. A wealth of detailed information was provided on the cause, course, and consequence of the accident. The 13-member International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group prepared a report on the August meeting at the request of the IAEA Director General and made recommendations. The IAEA Board of Governors also submitted a number of proposals to a special session of the IAEA General Conference in September for expansion or strengthening of IAEA activities in nuclear safety.

At the Special Session of the General Conference, held September 24 to 26, two international conventions were opened for signature. They were:

1.

A Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident, which will reinforce the ability of countries to deal with transboundary radiologic consequences of a significant nuclear accident; and 2. A Convention on Emergency Assistance, affirming the role of IAEA in the nuclear safety area and enhancing the ability of countries to assist each other in the event of a nuclear accident or radiologic emergency.

The two conventions were signed at the Conference by 52 IAEA member nations, including the U.S. and USSR. The Secretary of Energy signed for the U.S., subject to ratification procedures.

Energy Assistance to Developing Countries

The energy crisis appears to have abated with the drop in oil prices, but energy problems continue to pose a serious and fundamental barrier to sustained economic development in developing countries. Demand for energy in developing countries is growing faster than in the industrialized world because of high population growth, the tendency for most new industrial investment in such countries to be energy-intensive, the shift from traditional non-commercial fuels to oil and electricity, and increasing urbanization. Studies show that every 1 percent rise in developing country gross domestic product (GDP) requires a 1.3 percent rise in energy consumption. The energy requirement is closer to 2 percent for each one percent increase in agriculture. According to the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID), fossil fuel usage will have to grow between 8 percent and 12 percent per year to meet developing country demand, and the World Bank estimates developing countries will need to invest $60 billion annually in electric power in order to continue industrialization. About half this expenditure will represent foreign exchange costs.

Most of the developing country demand will be met by imported oil. Three-quarters of the countries assisted by AID rely on oil for 50 percent or more of their commercial energy requirements. Even with lower oil prices, 23 AID assisted countries are spending an average of 27 percent of their total export earnings on imported oil. Limiting imports of energy to alleviate balance of payments pressure is not a satisfactory solution since it risks stifling economic growth. This, in turn, has implications for the industrialized world in terms of global monetary stability, debt repayment, trade balances, and political stability. A temporary decline in world oil prices should not distract attention from the need to continue cooperation with developing countries in efforts to promote efficient and reliable energy use, and to develop the technology to take advantage of indigenous energy sources and reduce dependence upon imported oil.

IAEA Technical Assistance. The IAEA maintains a program of technical assistance and cooperation for developing countries as an element of support for its nuclear safeguards regime. This program provides developing countries with advice, training, and equipment for peaceful utilization of the atom in both nuclear power and non-power activities (i.e., industry, agriculture and medicine). One of its purposes is to promote the transfer to developing countries of skills and knowledge relating to the peaceful uses of nuclear energy in order to accelerate and enlarge the contribution of atomic energy to global peace, health, and prosperity. Since most developing countries view efforts to ensure non-proliferation as a responsibility of the advanced nuclear powers, they consider technical assistance an appropriate trade-off for their support of IAEA safeguards.

The IAEA provides assistance in response to requests submitted by the receiving country that are evaluated on their technical merits by the agency. Assistance includes providing internationally recruited experts, equipment, supplies, and services needed for the implementation of approved projects, as well as research contracts and technical and scientific

training in developed countries. Funding for the program comes from voluntary contributions to the IAEA Technical Assistance and Cooperation Fund (TACF). Donor countries, by long-standing practice, make cash contributions at the same percentage level as their base rate of assessment to the regular IAEA budget. The U.S. is assessed about 25 percent of the budget. In addition, the U.S. and other donors provide voluntary extra-budgetary contributions in the form of in-kind assistance, expert services, training, and equipment. The U.S. also has funded projects judged by the IAEA to be technically sound but for which there are no funds available from the regular TACF budget. These are known as "Footnote A" projects. The U.S., in selecting such projects, gives preferred treatment to countries that are party to the Non-Proliferation Treaty or the Treaty of Tlatelolco. equipment and expert services purchased under U.S. funded "Footnote A projects must be of U.S. origin.

All

U.S. contributions in FY 1985 and FY 1986 to the IAEA non-safeguards technical assistance and cooperation program are as shown in Table 7.1.

The countries benefiting from U.S. funding of Footnote A projects in FY 1986 were Mexico, Uruguay, Peru, Yugoslavia, Ecuador, Indonesia, Egypt, Malaysia, Greece, Republic of Korea, Jamaica, Thailand, and Guatemala.

An interagency group called the International Nuclear Technical Liaison Office (INTLO) was established in 1985 by the Department of State to improve the administration and operational support and coordination of U.S. participation in the program. INTLO consists of representatives from the Department of State, DOE, the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA), Argonne National Laboratory, and the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). The office sets policy guidelines and program direction, reviews proposals, organizes and staffs courses through Argonne and the NAS, places IAEA fellows, monitors projects, and evaluates project implementation. INTLO has met regularly in 1986, and has made progress in improving interagency coordination during its first year.