Minister outlines conditions for nuclear power licence

Economic affairs minister Maxime Verhagen on Friday published a list of conditions which anyone planning to build a new nuclear power station in the Netherlands will have to meet, the Volkskrant reports.


The safety standards for a new power plant will have to be so tough that the chance of a reactor melt down will have to be less than once in a million years, the minister told MPs.
The Netherlands has one nuclear power plant in Borssele, but at least two competing groups are hoping to win permission to build a second one.
Aircraft
A new nuclear power station will have to be able to withstand being hit by an aircraft and the owner will be responsible for dealing with the waste and storage.
The licence holder will also have to put money into a special fund for research into radioactive waste.
‘There is no room for experimentation,’ Verhagen said.
If permits are granted, work can begin on a new nuclear power station in 2015, he said. The minister said earlier no government money will go into the project.

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