EUROPE:EUROPEAN authorities responded to the Fukushima emergency by ordering voluntary stress tests on nuclear installations throughout the EU.
After a meeting in Brussels with nuclear regulators and industry chiefs, European energy commissioner Gunther Oettinger said the tests would be carried out this year to examine vulnerability to “all potential” hazards.
These include potential threats from earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, terror attacks, structural weakness and operational concerns, including the risk of power cuts and the requirement for back-up systems.
“We want to look at the risks and safety issues in light of events in Japan,” the commissioner said in Brussels. “We will conduct the tests as soon as we agree on criteria and the reach and extent.”
He said the tests would be carried out according to common strict standards by recognised independent experts.
“My goal will be to have them published. The standards, selection and the result; all of that has to be public and transparent.”
He wanted the tests “to carry such authority that the necessary consequences will be drawn from them”.
Industry figures said they welcomed the initiative. “There are lessons to be learned without any doubt. We cannot just rely on present safety standards. They need to be improved,” said Johannes Teyssen, chairman and chief executive of energy giant E.ON.
The decision to order the tests came as Germany ordered the temporary closure of seven of its 17 nuclear plants. Mr Oettinger indicated he knew of no plans by other EU countries to enforce closures.
Although the commissioner said the EU authorities have no powers to compel the owners of Europe’s 143 nuclear plants to participate, there was general agreement on the need for tests.
“We want to operate on a voluntary basis with, if possible, everybody on board,” he said.