Brussels, 02/10/2012 (Agence Europe) - The 19 French power stations apparently show all the faults of variable incidence in terms of safety. The Greens speak out.
Although the final report on the stress tests of the 68 power stations housing the 143 active reactors in the EU, which the Commission will bring out on 4 October, shows hundreds of deficiencies in the 14 member states that use atomic energy, France features in the front line. Home to 19 power stations and 58 reactors - in other words 40% of the European nuclear power stations - France nevertheless had much more chance of being criticised.
Particularly criticised are the French nuclear park's insufficiencies in the protection of emergency instruments against earthquakes and flooding - such as emergency generators to make cooling systems work if there is a loss of electricity supply - unlike the power stations in Germany, Belgium or Sweden. In addition, the French power stations lack effective earthquake measurement instruments. On the other hand, all are equipped with hydrogen reformers, which are lacking in the ten British power stations and in five out of the six Spanish power stations.
The report, which is due to be validated by the Commission this Wednesday, with a view to being presented to the European Council later in October, does not recommend any power station closures, but assesses the cost of immediately upgrading the European power stations at between €10-25 billion - in other words a cost of €30-500 million per reactor. The overall situation is satisfactory but we must not be complacent, warned European Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger on Monday.
The Greens criticise the under-investment in France. “With a final cost of over €10 billon, more than half the work in Europe should be done in France. It's the obvious outcome of the chronic under-investment in France on maintenance and nuclear safety”, deplores ecologist Michèle Rivasi (Greens/EFA, France), stressing that the Commission report “only confirms the constant rise in nuclear costs” (our translation throughout). Rivasi also regrets that the stress tests have only been done minimally, as they do not include risks of terrorism or plane crashes, which are handled separately by an ad hoc group at the Council because they concern nuclear safety. (EH/transl.fl)