The Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP) convened a Nuclear Energy Experts' Group Workshop in Beijing, China on November 30 - December 1, 2000 to review, update, and discuss enhancements to the CSCAP Asia Pacific Nuclear Energy Transparency Web Site. Following the Beijing Workshop, participants then traveled to Shanghai for a visit to the Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant. The meeting, chaired by Ralph Cossa (USCSCAP), was held under the auspices of the CSCAP International Working Group on Confidence and Security Building Measures (CSBMs), as a continuation of the Working Group's policy-oriented discussions of regional mechanisms for nuclear energy-related multilateral cooperation. 

Nuclear experts from China, Japan, South Korea, Mongolia, New Zealand, Taiwan, and the United States attended the Beijing meeting and subsequent field trip to Qinshan. This was the seventh time the Nuclear Energy Experts Group had met together to discuss energy transparency-related issues. Previous Workshops occurred in Albuquerque, New Mexico at the Cooperative Monitoring Center (October 1998 and January 1999) and in Seoul, Korea (February 2000).The Group also met twice in conjunction with full CSBM Working Group meetings (May 1999 in Seoul and May 2000 in Washington). Experts Group members also attended a "Workshop for Asian Experts on Transparency in the Back End of the Fuel Cycle" in Albuquerque in July 2000 that also included a field trip to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad, New Mexico. The Cooperative Monitoring Center (CMC) continues to be a key partner in this process, providing technical expertise as well as hardware, software, and financial support. We are also grateful to CSCAP-China for their assistance in arranging this meeting and, especially, the field trip to Qinshan. 

As noted by Ralph Cossa in his opening comments, the Nuclear Energy Experts Group is party of a broader effort aimed at promoting confidence through dialogue and the development of regional transparency measures. It grew out of the CSBM Working Group's examination of regional concerns involving the various aspects of nuclear energy research and production. The Group's mission is to dig more deeply into measures for promoting trust and understanding on nuclear energy issues. The primary vehicle to achieve this goal is the Nuclear Energy Transparency in the Asia-Pacific Web Site http://www.cscap.nuctrans.org chosen and designed by the Group.

Dr. John Olsen from CMC provided a comprehensive review of the Web Site, with a focus on some new or expanded features. The site is designed as a "one-stop shopping" location for information on nuclear energy transparency in the region. It contains background information on all the region's nuclear energy production programs (in large part provided through the efforts of Expert Group members), along with a review of available transparency technologies and, in selected cases, detailed information about various domestic radiation monitoring efforts. Among the new features on the Web Site is a transparency demonstration from the WIPP that uses sensor-triggered video cameras and meteorological sensors, all of which are Internet accessible. Dr. Olsen also demonstrated a new virtual tour technology for the Internet. Developed by IPIX in the U.S., this virtual tour software stitches together two images from a wide-angle digital camera to provide 360 degree photographs of installations. Imbedded "hot links" allow the viewer to change position and call up supplementary information in selected areas, in effect permitting the building of three-dimensional brochures to demonstrate the physical layout of a particular facility. He will be providing additional details to members on this equipment based on the high level of interest exhibited at the meeting. 

Another new feature on the Site is a "Recent Events" section, which will try to cover significant nuclear energy-related developments on a timely basis. There is no intention here to try to compete with CNN or local news agencies in covering current events, but rather to provide a ready source of information on newsworthy developments, both when they occur and as they are more fully examined or explained. As this section of the Web Site is further developed, we can envision separate pages covering individual domestic and general regional developments, in each case further divided into four categories: current news, official news releases, final reports, and sources. The current news section will include initial reporting on events from local newspapers, summarized with permission and with a link to the primary source, along with a reminder that appearance of this article on the Web Site does not imply verification or endorsement of the referenced data.  We will be seeking blanket permission from selected regional newspapers to highlight their reporting on our Web Site and are looking to Expert Group members both to help identify the sources and to obtain the blanket permission. They will also be instrumental in developing the other portions of the Current Events section. 

Mr. Leng Ruiping, Senior Advisor and Senior Engineer of the China National Nuclear Corporation then provided a comprehensive overview of China's nuclear energy program, outlining China's growing energy needs and the modest, yet significant role that nuclear energy currently plays, and is expected top continue to play, in addressing PRC energy requirements. He provided details on the three currently operational nuclear power reactors (one at Qinshan and two at Daya Bay), along with a review of the eight additional reactors currently under construction. He also provided a comprehensive listing of safety codes, standards, and regulations governing the safe operation of nuclear energy facilities throughout China. Mr. Leng also provided a review of China's international cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and other multilateral and bilateral efforts. His presentation helped to set the stage for our subsequent visit to Qinshan. 

The visit to the Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant, which took place on December 2, upon the conclusion of the Beijing portion of the meeting, was highlighted by a tour of the plant's visitor's facilities and its control room simulator. The Qinshan Power Plant #1 was undergoing a scheduled maintenance and refueling operation so a visit to the power plant itself was not possible. However, the group did tour the construction site for the new CANDU reactors under construction at Qinshan, including an on-site briefing on ongoing activities. We also received comprehensive briefings by plant personnel, with particular emphasis on radiation monitoring and local public relations programs. 

While review of the Nuclear Energy Transparency Web Site and field trip to Qinshan were the primary objectives of this Group meeting, participants also discussed several other nuclear energy-related topics during the Beijing portion of the meeting. Several will be further expanded upon during future meetings of the Experts Group or the full CSBM Working Group. Topics discussed included the following: - Dr. Kaoru Kikuyama from the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum gave a presentation on Regional Nuclear Non-Proliferation Cooperation that reviewed current cooperative efforts, including the Forum for Nuclear Cooperation in Asia (FNCA), developed by Japan, which focuses on research reactor utilization among Asian countries. She also highlighted the need for a new regional multilateral framework for broader nuclear energy cooperation along the lines of previous PACATOM proposals. 

Dr. Ronald Smith from the University of Waikato in New Zealand also provided a presentation on Cooperative Approaches to Spent Fuel Storage/Disposal which examined various national policies and current proposed international solutions to the growing challenge of spent fuel and high-level waste storage or ultimate disposition. He proposed as one approach the development of an interim (100 year) above-ground, internationally monitored, regional storage facility or facilities. - Ms. Kim Jong-sook of the Korean Atomic Energy Research Institute provided an update on the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) Project and International Development, including background information on KEDO's development and the type of agreements already reached with North Korea to build two light water nuclear reactors near Kumho, DPRK.Key milestones, current developments, and future prospects were all highlighted. - Dr. Chu Wen-chen from Tatung University provided an update on Taiwan's nuclear energy program in light of the recent controversial decision to cancel the island's fourth nuclear power plant, which was already under construction. This event demonstrated the impact of domestic politics on future nuclear energy development, which is a growing concern region-wide. - Mr. Jigiddorj Ganzorig, Vice Chairman of Mongolia's Nuclear Energy Commission provided a review of Mongolia's Power Sector Development, noting that officials in Ulaanbaatar are still seriously considering nuclear energy as a potential option for addressing his nation's energy needs, perhaps through the use of small reactors in some of the nation's more remote locations. A bilateral agreement on cooperation on the peaceful use of nuclear energy was signed during Russian President Putin's recent visit to Mongolia.

Dr. John Olsen then provided an update on cooperation among the CMC, Russia's MINATOM, and Los Alamos National Laboratory on the emplacement of atmospheric radiation monitoring devices around the Bilibino Nuclear Power Plant in the Russian Far East. Information from these stations will feed through the Los Alamos National Laboratory NEWNET system into the CSCAP Nuclear Energy Transparency Web Site. The date will also be available to MINATOM's Situation Crisis Center in Moscow. (A MINATOM representative was invited to this Workshop but was unable to attend. Russia has been represented at other Expert Group meetings.) Participants were also provided with the final version of the generic outline of the Asia-Pacific Nuclear Energy Data Book prepared by the Nuclear Energy Experts Group, largely through the efforts of Dr. Kikuyama and Dr. Chu. Members were encouraged to review the outline and provide additional feedback as necessary. At this point, we would like to develop a specific country book, using the generic outline as a guide, to serve as a model for future volumes covering all regional nuclear energy producers. We are soliciting volunteers to prepare this initial volume in return for a US$1,000 honorarium. 

Looking toward the future, the Expert Group's primary effort will continue to be the further development, refinement, and expansion of the CSCAP Nuclear Energy Transparency in the Asia Pacific Web Site and the production, in cooperation with the broader CSBM Working Group, of individual Asia-Pacific Nuclear Energy Data Books. The Experts Group will also assist the CSBM Working Group in its examination of regional approaches toward multilateral cooperation in the field of nuclear energy research and development in general and in spent fuel storage and disposal in particular. Efforts will also be made to expand the Web Site to include information on regional nuclear energy research programs among states operating research reactors. Links will also be established to a similar South Asia transparency effort being undertaken by the CMC, including the possibility of an India country page on the CSCAP Web Site to provide information on the civilian nuclear energy activities of this CSCAP member as well. Future meetings currently being considered include a joint Experts Group/CSBM Working Group spring or fall 2001 meeting in Japan, which could include a visit to Japan's reprocessing and spent fuel storage facility at Rokkasho, possible participation in the next "Workshop for Asian Experts on Transparency in the Back End of the Fuel Cycle" (tentatively planned for South Korea in the summer of 2001), and possible visits to other nuclear energy production or research facilities region-wide. Prepared by: Ralph A. Cossa

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