NUCLEAR LAWS IN AN ENVIRONMENTAL PERSPECTIVE

Received: 13.06.2021; Revised: 22.07.2021, Accepted: 15.09.2021, Published Online: 05.10.2021

Prithivi Raj

Assistant Professor of Law, Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (Deemed University), India, ORCID – 0000-0003-2464-2852

Abstract

People living near nuclear power facilities are affected by radiation problems in any country that has them. Many installations and equipment’s repair and maintenance are dangerously inadequate, as evidenced by mishaps and accidents. Nuclear waste is a global problem that isn’t going away, posing a massive environmental threat: its poison, as well as the toxic chemicals that accompany all aspects of nuclear energy development, have travelled around the world in the atmosphere and ocean currents, harming the earth, plants that grow on it, and livestock and wildlife. Miscarriages, deformed foetuses, high infant mortality and congenital abnormalities, leukaemia and other malignancies, tumours, thyroid disorders, and complicated debilitating and life-shortening syndromes are all caused by human exposure to nuclear and chemical testing and factories, or through the food chain. The number of complaints of negative health, habitat, and cultural repercussions continues to rise. The absence of any effective regulations would result in the planet’s extinction. Even in the twenty-first century, we do not take radioactive pollution of our environment as seriously as we do ozone depletion or climate change, which are equally major threats. As countries become increasingly energy hungry, their need for nuclear energy rises in tandem, increasing the likelihood of nuclear disasters, for which the world, with the exception of a few wealthy nations, is largely unprepared. In this paper, the author discusses the environmental hazards that may be posed by the contamination of radioactive materials; also, the author discusses various national and international laws and conventions made for the wise use of atomic or radioactive energy; critically evaluates such legal regime to combat this threat to mankind; and suggests certain steps for the betterment of mankind.

Keywords: Nuclear Law, Atomic Energy Law, Radioactivity Environmental Laws.