The German government has asked Belgium to shut down two nuclear reactors citing security concerns.
The German Environment Minister,
Jochen Flasbarth,
said that this was indeed an unprecedented request from a neighboring
state, but it reflects serious concerns. German authorities are not
satisfied the two reactors are safe.
The two reactors in question are the Engie SA’s Tihange-2 and Doel-3
atomic plants. They were put back in operation in November 2015, after a
20-month shutdown pending a safety probe. Belgium’s regulator AFCN
stands by the view that the two reactors are safe, but it would work
with German counterparts to address concerns Bloomberg reports.
The assurances of the industry’s regulator are in line with those of
the owner of the plant, Electrabel. The spokeswoman for the company,
Geetha Kayaert, said the company was “surprised” because the operation
of the two factories follows a very long probe with the participation of
foreign and independent experts.
The claim that Electrabel is surprised is not credible.
In February, the German city of Aachen announced it would sue Elecrabel for what appears over the opening of Tihange II reactor.
Aachen is on the triangle between the Netherlands, Belgium, and
Germany, 60 km from Tigange. The reactor was taken off line in March
2014 due to hairline cracks in the concrete block. The city believes the
reactor was put in operation without the necessary repairs. In
parallel, Greenpeace is also pursuing litigation against the Tihange I
reactor.
To underline how serious the concern is, Aachen’s university clinic
keeps in store 300,000 iodine tablets to ward off thyroid cancer should
radioactivity ever leak. The Dutch government is also concerned for the
city of Maastricht and has also protested the use of the plant.
Belgium has planned to gradually phase out its nuclear sector by
2025. Until that time, Electrabel, plans to make the most out of its
assets. Nuclear power provides 50% of Belgium’s domestically produced
electricity. The reactors in question currently produce 14% of Belgium’s
electricity.
Doel-3 and Tihange-2 are due to retire in 2022 and 2023 respectively.
(DW, Bloomberg)
https://neurope.eu/article/germany-requests-closure-belgian-nuclear-reactors/