Regulatory aspects associated with response to man-made cosmic Hazards #50

Abstract

The risks posed by man-made cosmic hazards include pollution in outer space and on Earth primarily caused by artificial space debris and the contamination of the Earth-space environment and celestial bodies created by the release of organic and biological bacteria, radiation released by nuclear reactors used to provide electric power for space objects, and radiation resulting from the use of nuclear weapons or their tests. In general, current international law (including space law) does not provide a satisfactory and binding legal framework to address all the risks posed by these hazards. Nevertheless, the international community has adopted some non-binding regulatory mechanisms to regulate and control these risks. This chapter briefly describes and points out the strengths and weaknesses of these mechanisms. Finally, some recommendations are made with respect to the future actions the international community ought to take in order to avoid or at least minimize the risks posed by man-made cosmic hazards. Clearly there are also a number of legal and regulatory issues related to natural cosmic hazards such as Near-Earth Objects and hazardous solar events, but these issues are addressed in the earlier chapter by Fabio Tronchetti.