Cooperation with the CTBTO

Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO)

The CTBT Treaty was ratified by the Czech Government on September 11, 1997. The State Office for Nuclear Safety (SÚJB, as the national office), together with representatives of the Czech Republic Permanent Mission at UN in Vienna, the Institute of Physics of the Earth (ÚFZ) of the Masaryk University in Brno and National Radiation Protection Institute ensures the fulfillment of all commitments resulting from this Treaty. It includes in particular providing of activities of the subsidiary seismologic station AS026 (VRAC) of the International Monitoring System (IMS) in Vranov near Brno operated by the ÚFZ. The operational reliability of the VRAC station is almost 100%.

In order to ensure the operation of monitoring devices in the territory of the Czech Republic, the Czech Government, together with the CTBTO Preparatory Commission, entered into agreement, which became effective after completion of ratification process on January 29, 2004.

The CTBT has not entered into force due to a small number of signatories. However, the Provisional Technical Secretariat builds up, in stages, the basic infrastructure for monitoring of the observance of the nuclear test ban. According to the wording of the treaty, four station systems (seismologic, sonar, infrasonic and radionuclide) may be used in addition to the main purpose (nuclear explosion identification) for scientific purposes or as warning systems, e.g. for tsunami waves. For more information regarding the latest status of the Treaty and the International Monitoring System build up please refer to web pages of the CTBTO Preparatory Commission.

The seismologic monitoring station AS026 in Vranov near Brno registered the  experimental explosion executed by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on October 9, 2006,  on 25 May 2009 as well as on 12 February 2013.