Concern over the risk of fire in commercial nuclear power plants increased after a fire at the Browns Ferry nuclear plant in Alabama in 1975. The fire damaged a relatively small area but adversely affected the functioning of one of the plant's safety systems and the operator's ability to monitor the status of the plant As a result of that fire, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the nuclear utility industry have taken various actions to help ensure that nuclear plants are safe from the threat of fires and that utilities can safely shut these plants down should a fire occur. NRC's fire protection regulations are intended to (1) prevent fires from starting; (2) rapidly detect, control, and extinguish fires that do occur; and (3) protect a nuclear power plant's structures, systems, and components so that a fire that is not promptly extinguished will not prevent its safe shutdown. According to NRC's regulations, these activities are designed to provide reasonable assurance that any deficiencies occurring in one activity will be backed up by another system so there is no undue risk to public health and safety.

This book explores the future of international environmental law in a world of ever worsening environmental crises. It examines the success stories and failures of international environmental law and argues that future responses to global environmental crises will be more about good environmental governance than just more treaties and laws. Environmental governance will need to accommodate the needs and aspirations of peoples from developed and developing countries alike and will have to be based on decisions and actions by a vast range of actors and stakeholders--not just the nation-state that has traditionally dominated environmental diplomacy. This also suggests a need to be cognizant of the close links to other areas of international law, including human rights. "The Future of International Environmental Law" tackles the major environmental challenges of our times including climate change, biodiversity loss, and polluction and overfishing of the oceans. It examines what we can learn from the implementation of existing international environmental laws over the past few decades. It also considers a range of emerging issues such as the management of the environmental challenges faced by the Arctic, nanotechnology, biofuels and synthetic genomics.