Latent Effects Compensation Under The Price-Anderson Act: Current Cases

The Price-Anderson Act¹ provides omnibus insurance coverage for NRC licensees (operators) and related contractors in the event of a nuclear incident involving a nuclear power plant in the United States or shipment of nuclear material between licensees. The Act, passed into law in 1957, was the first national nuclear liability regime established among the world's countries operating nuclear power plants, and has undergone significant extension and revision since its initial codification. One unique aspect of the Act is that it provides, in the event that liability for any given accident is likely to be exceeded, for the development of compensation plans for payment of claims that arise as a result of latent injuries.² Other nuclear liability instruments, such as the Convention on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy (Paris Convention), the Convention on Supplementary Compensation (CSC), and the Protocol to Amend the Vienna Convention on Civil Liability