Nuclear power must be made safer to prevent accidents like the one in Japan, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Yukiya Amano said Monday at the start of a regular review meeting of nuclear safety practices around the world, DPA reported.
"We cannot take a 'business as usual' approach," Amano said at the fifth review conference on the Convention on Nuclear Safety in Vienna. "The worries of millions of people throughout the word about whether energy is safe must be taken seriously."
The conference was convened before the Fukushima 1 nuclear power plant was crippled by a massive earthquake and tsunami last month, and participants did not expect it to bring about significant changes in the international nuclear security framework.
However, Amano has convened a ministerial conference on the Japanese accident from June 20 to 24.
That meeting is to deal with improving protection of nuclear plants against multiple hazards, protection of nuclear fuel, and measures against power failures that have caused nuclear material to overheat at Fukushima, Amano said.
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