Holland’s only nuclear power plant fails Brussels’ safety stress tests

The Netherlands only nuclear power plant, at Borssele in Zeeland, does not meet international standards for coping with flooding or earthquakes, Trouw reports on Wednesday.


In addition, equipment which is supposed to be used in the case of a serious problem is not properly stored to withstand a natural disaster, the paper said, quoting a European Commission report which has been leaked to the media.
The report is the result of Europe-wide stress tests to assess if Europe’s 143 licensed nuclear power plants can withstand extreme events such as earthquakes. It was set up in the wake of the disaster in Fukushima, Japan last year.
Hundreds of problems
French nuclear power stations score worst and no European plant passes all 11 safety criteria drawn up by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Trouw says. In total, hundreds of problems have been identified.
Nevertheless, the European commission is not recommending any plants be closed down. Instead it suggests the cost of bringing nuclear installations up to standard will be between €10bn and €25bn.
‘Following the accidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, urgent measures to protect nuclear plants were agreed. The stress tests demonstrate that even today, decades later, their implementation is still pending in some member states,’ the BBC quotes the report as saying.
The report is due to be published later on Wednesday.
What are your thoughts on nuclear power? Have your say using the comment box below.

Thank you for donating to DutchNews.nl.

We could not provide the Dutch News service, and keep it free of charge, without the generous support of our readers. Your donations allow us to report on issues you tell us matter, and provide you with a summary of the most important Dutch news each day.

Make a donation