VZCZCXYZ0005
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHUNV #0391/01 2261404
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 141404Z AUG 09
FM USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9950
INFO RUEHII/VIENNA IAEA POSTS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI PRIORITY 0017
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 0904
RHMCSUU/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEANFA/NRC WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS UNVIE VIENNA 000391 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR IO/T, ISN/MNSA, ISN/NESS, OES 
NAIROBI FOR UNEP OFFICER 
DOE FOR OIP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV AORC KNNP ENRG TRGY TPHY KGHG
SUBJECT: IAEA/NA: AGENCY HAS A ROLE IN FIGHTING CLIMATE CHANGE 
 
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Summary 
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¶1. (U) Though most widely known to the general public as the nuclear 
nonproliferation watchdog agency, the IAEA is having an increasing 
impact on environmental policy.  Most, if not all, of its activities 
in this area are focused on marine and terrestrial environmental 
issues, and are funneled through the IAEA's Monaco Environmental 
Laboratories (MEL).  MEL performs research in both radioactive and 
non-radioactive marine contamination.  Additionally, many technical 
cooperation (TC) projects help Member States cope with adverse 
environmental and health effects of climate change, mainly in 
coastal areas.  The Agency is considering hosting a side-event at 
the 2009 General Conference (GC) that would introduce MEL's research 
to a broader audience.  The IAEA needs to do a better job at 
showcasing its important, yet little known work in these areas. 
 
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Marine and Terrestrial 
Environment 
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- 
¶2.  (U) The IAEA has two main laboratory facilities - one in 
Seibersdorf, Austria, and another one in Monaco.  The Monaco 
Environmental Lab is tasked with implementing the agency's 
activities in environmental and terrestrial environmental 
protection, also known as Program H.  These activities fall under 
Major Program 2 (Nuclear Applications for Development) in the 
Agency's budget and operational structure.   MEL does work in three 
broad areas, i.e. radioactive assessments, coastal pollution, and 
non-radioactive contamination.  These are done through one of MEL's 
three sub-labs.  The main goal of the program is to identify and 
mitigate marine and terrestrial problems caused by both radioactive 
and non-radioactive pollutants.  The program is also part of the 
UN's Global Program of Action for the Protection of the Marine 
Environment from Land-Based Activities.   Main activities of the 
program include: radionuclides in oceans and seas, computer modeling 
of the dispersion of radionuclides, and water and sediment dynamics 
studies. 
 
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Radionuclides 
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¶3.  (U) Marine radioactivity assessment in the coastal regions and 
open seas is part of Program H managed through the Radiometrics 
Laboratory (RML).  RML has expertise in the fields of marine 
radiochemistry, low-level radioactivity measurements, modeling of 
radionuclide dispersion and transfer in the marine environment, 
environmental and radiological assessment, radiotracer applications 
in oceanographic, pollution and climate studies.  RML collaborates 
with Member States laboratories to carry out research and to 
implement capacity building Technical Cooperation Projects.   Recent 
projects carried out by the RML include a series of nuclear and 
isotopic studies of the El Nino phenomenon and a research on nuclear 
and isotopic techniques for the characterization of submarine 
groundwater discharge (SGD) in coastal zones. 
 
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Coastal Contamination 
--------------------- 
 
¶4.  (U)  Along with radioactivity assessments, the Agency also 
develops and uses nuclear techniques to obtain information on the 
processes involved in the transfer and transport of radionuclides, 
conventional contaminants, toxic substances and other key elements 
through the coastal marine ecosystems.  The Agency recently has 
focused on the development of a rapid, radiolabelled toxin assay to 
mitigate the effect of Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB's), whose poisons 
can concentrate in shellfish with lethal affects in the human food 
chain. 
 
¶5.  (U) NA believes that basic knowledge about the fate of marine 
contaminants is critical to issues of human health and environmental 
protection.   Sound knowledge of radionuclide behavior and transfer 
processes help Member States to make accurate assessments of the 
impacts from local nuclear releases and from those contaminants 
transported into territorial waters from distant sources.   In 
addition, the use of radiotracers to monitor the transport of 
analogue stable elements and radiolabelled organic compounds offers 
the ability to discern the behavior and fate of conventional 
pollutants (e.g. heavy metals, PCB's and pesticides) and the fate of 
greenhouse gases in the marine environment.  As part of the 
continuing education of Member States, NA worked with the TC 
 
Department to establish a TC project on coastal zone management in 
Africa.  The project helped a number of African countries apply 
isotope techniques in national phytoplankton monitoring programs. 
The Agency, in collaboration with the International Oceanographic 
Commission (IOC), also trains Member States in the use of the 
receptor binding assay for toxin quantification and in the 
identification of toxic algae. 
 
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Non-Radioactive 
Pollution 
--------------- 
 
¶6.  (U) According to Agency research, marine pollution can limit 
access to coastal resources and even pose a threat to public health. 
   Non-radioactive pollutants, such as heavy metals, pesticides and 
oil products, currently have a higher environmental impact than 
radioactive contaminants.   These originate from numerous land-based 
sources, and trans-boundary issues arise due to the easy transport 
of contaminants in marine waters.  To combat this problem, the 
Agency helps national laboratory networks obtain harmonized data 
sets on diverse temporal and spatial scales.  It also undertakes 
research, including the development of isotopic techniques for 
tracer studies.  The Monaco Laboratory is the only UN-family 
component with operational capabilities in environmental analytical 
chemistry and pollution assessment of nonradioactive marine 
contaminants. 
 
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ALMERA 
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¶7.  (U) To support the research and development at MEL, the Agency 
established a worldwide network of laboratories for environmental 
radionuclide monitoring, called the ALMERA network.   Last year, 11 
new laboratories joined, bringing the total number of members to 117 
labs in 72 Member States.  Through ALMERA, the Agency has organized 
regular proficiency tests to help network members improve their 
analytical performance.  Comparisons of results obtained in 2006 and 
2007 show significant improvement in the accuracy of results 
obtained for lead-210 and cadmium-107. 
 
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Partnerships 
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¶8.  (U) The Agency collaborates with several regional and 
international organizations in implementing its climate change 
activities.  The IAEA provides advice and assistance on marine 
radioactivity to Member States and intergovernmental bodies, such as 
the Oslo-Paris Commission for Protection of the Marine Environment 
of the North-Eastern Atlantic (OSPAR), the Helsinki Commission, the 
Barcelona Convention, and the Joint Group of Experts on the 
Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection (GESAMP). 
Regionally, it has undertaken joint activities with Member States in 
the Mediterranean Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Black Sea and Caspian 
Sea.   At the national level, it works directly with laboratories in 
Member States and provides expertise implementing international 
conventions, such as the UNEP ban on the use of persistent organic 
pollutants (POPs) and the IMO convention prohibiting organotin 
compounds as marine antifoulants.  The Agency also provides advice 
on radioactive contamination in the terrestrial environment to 
regional and international bodies such as WHO, UNEP, UNDP, IUR and 
the affected Member States. 
 
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Comment 
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¶9.  (U) For the September 14-18 General Conference, the IAEA is 
considering hosting a side-event to showcase its work in marine and 
terrestrial environmental protection.   This will provide a rare 
occasion for the wider public to learn about the Agency's important 
contributions in climate change issues.  In general, however, the 
Agency has not capitalized on all the communication resources and 
fora available to increase public awareness of its activities.   As 
a result, this aspect of the Agency's work remains mostly unknown in 
comparison to its role in safeguards and nonproliferation.   Because 
of the increasing attention Member States pay to the Agency, as well 
as the unparalleled technical expertise of the organization, the 
IAEA is uniquely positioned to become a leader in certain technical 
aspects of climate change.   With more adequate staffing at MEL and 
a more effective public relations presence, the IAEA could better 
demonstrate the various ways in which nuclear techniques can protect 
the environment. 
 
 
PYATT