Brussels, 16/05/2011 (Agence Europe) - ENSREG, the European Nuclear Safety Regulator Group, reached agreement at the end of last week, according to diplomatic sources, on a compromise with the European Commission on the criteria for the stress tests of the resistance of the 143 nuclear reactors operating in the EU to various risks, such as those which devastated the Fukushima Daiichi power plant in Japan on 11 March - an earthquake and a tsunami. Germany, Austria and the Commission have, however, reserved their final decision until 18 May.
The compromise separates the safety of reactors against natural hazards, disasters and accidents and their ability to resist acts of terrorism or sabotage. Full safety tests are planned to check both the resistance of EU nuclear power plants to natural disasters, such as earthquakes and flooding, and also to the consequences of all kinds of accident, whether human or natural in origin. “Great progress has been made”, acknowledged Marlène Holzner, spokeswoman for Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger on Friday 13 May.
With national safety authorities recognising that they have no powers on security against terrorism, the compromise will propose setting up a working group made up of experts from the member states and the Commission. The exact form this group will take, its remit and working method have yet to be decided. This option would allow account to be taken of Oettinger's demands.
Those member states which have nuclear power plants have been locked in a trial of strength with Commissioner Oettinger for several weeks. The member states, jointly in the Western European Nuclear Regulators' Association (WENRA), want to restrict the stress tests to assessment of the resistance of power plants to three hazards - natural initiating events (storms, earthquakes and flooding), the loss of safety systems (cooling or electrical power) and serious accidents (damage to the fuel rods in the reactors, problems with cooling of fuel storage ponds). Oettinger, on the other hand, wants to include all possible risks, including terrorist attack, cyber-attack and plane crashes.
If the compromise is approved by the end of the week, the first stress tests on EU reactors could begin any time from 1st June. (E.H./transl.rt)