Brussels, 12/03/2015 (Agence Europe) - In a report to be published and presented to the European Parliament in April, the NGO Nuclear Transparency Watch (NTW) says that Europe has not taken into account all the lessons from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear catastrophe in Japan in March 2011.
The “responsible institutions have failed in recognizing the real risks of the reactors, in implementing appropriate nuclear safety standards and, ultimately, in protecting people”, claims NTW in a press release on 11 March.
Nuclear Transparency Watch identifies numerous weaknesses in regional and local authorities' emergency plans which, it says, would mean that a level 7 accident, the level of the Chernobyl and Fukushima catastrophes, could not be coped with. The NGO points to insufficient preparation for people, through simulation exercises and realistic evacuation plans. “In some cases, it seems that EP&R plans have been drafted a long time ago with poor updating regarding important recent spatial changes (new residential neighbourhoods, shopping malls, medical centres, schools, roads, etc.) and without taking into consideration recent changes in technology (internet, mobile phones, new social media, etc.)”, NTW argues.
In addition, the report highlights that, even during exercises, the communication and notification lines of the responsible institutions are not entirely working as necessary: contact data are sometimes wrong or out-dated, there is a lack of communication between different concerned administration services and warning messages are sometimes not clear or too late. NTW also notes that the cross-border dimension exacerbates the potential ineffectiveness of rescue plans: the heterogeneity of countries' measures is potentially a source of chaos, loss of credibility and, most importantly, of potential failure to protect the population, it warns.
The chair of NTW, French Green MEP Michèle Rivasi is highly critical that contamination norms twice as high as those of Fukushima are being debated for a new directive on the radioactive contamination of food and feeds after an accident. “While safety agencies recognize that an accident can happen in Europe, accepting contamination norms that are twice the one of Fukushima is from a public health perspective unacceptable”, she stresses.
Nuclear Transparency Watch urges the European Parliament, the Commission, the member states, regional bodies and municipalities, together with nuclear operators to provide access to relevant information and to support participation of interested citizens, citizens' initiatives and civil society organisations in emergency preparedness and response planning. (Emmanuel Hagry)