(November 3, 1989) Following a fire at unit 1 of the Vandellos nuclear power plant in Tarragona, Spain, the mayors of four nearby municipalities (MontRoig, Tivissa, Pratdip and l'Ametlla de Mar) are asking the central government to halt operation of both that unit and unit 2, until the minimum levels of security according to guidelines laid down by Spain's commission for nuclear safety, el Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear (CSN) are met. (A series of three fires within five months which occurred last year at Vandellos-2 are what have led to the inclusion of that unit in the demand. See WISE News Communique 305.3048.)
(320.3207) WISE Tarragona - According to an article in El Pais (25 Oct. 1989) the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said the accident at Vandellos-1 (a gas-cooled, graphite-moderated reactor or GCR) was the worst in a nuclear installation since Chernobyl. However, reports we have since received in the WISE-Tarragona office say that IAEA is now denying it ever said this.
| Even though the reactor has been shut down, there are still problems at Vandellos—1. On 26 October there was a short-circuit in the transformer. This was the reason for a new alarm in the region (the people there were already considering fleeing because of the first accident). News of this second incident was not released until a half hour after it occurred. A spokesperson for the CSN told the press that this new incident had no importance whatsoever because the central had already been shut down. (Never mind the 3,000 tons of graphite inside....) Source: El Pais (Spain), 27 Oct. 1989. |
The fire occurred on Thursday, 19 October, when, for reasons not yet known, one turbine stopped suddenly. The weight of the machine (five tons) then proceeded to heat up the lubrication oil which decomposed and lost hydrogen. the hydrogen exploded and the turbine itself then caught fire.
Because the plant does not have fire fighting equipment, firefighters from neighboring communities had to be called in. They came from Tarragona city and other localities, including Bella Terra, 100 km from the facility. The fire continued for almost four and a half hours and seriously affected two of the four connections from the turbine to the plant's cooling system.
The CSN and the government first said that no radiation escaped, but authorities later appeared to contradiet this statement by announcing that there were no significant levels of radiation released and there was no danger to the sürrounding population. In response, WISE-Tarragona sent a note to the authorities demanding that they verify their statements by publishing the measurements taken around the plant by the local government (Catalunia).
The union CCOO (Comisiones Obreras, which includes the firefighters), says the firefighters risked death by going into the plant because the none of the various fire departments are covered by the PENTA (Spain's nuclear emergency plan) and therefore had not been given the appropriate equipment and training, nor had they been warned about the risk of radioactivity. Because of this, the firefighters piled one calamity on another. For instance, because they did not understand the situation, they used water to fight the fire in an electrical system where they should have used foam to prevent short circuits. The basement ended up flooded and the plant's director, Carlos Fernandez Palomero, explained that the big smoke column coming from the plant was due to the burning of electric insulators - one step closer to a really big catastrophe.
The firefighters were later taken to Vandellos-2 where they were checked for contamination. The analyses were said to have come up negative, but later, at a press conference, they asked for a new, independent examination by doctors not connected to the nuclear industry.
Vandellos-1 was shut down, and is expected to remain down for at least the next six months. HIFRENSA, a Spanish-French consortium which owns the plant, has plans to start it up again with only one turbine, at 50% capacity. The company has contacted its French partner, Electricite de France (EdF), about buying a turbine from one of the French Chinon nuclear power plant reactors which is to be dismantled. The reactor, Chinon-A3, also a GCR, is similar in design and, again like Vandellos-1, has problems with corrosion. Because repairs there have been so numerous and there are even more necessary, EdF has decided to dismantle it within six months. (The prototype of Vandellos-1, the plant at St. Laurent des Eaux in France, has also experienced a great deal of trouble. On 13 March it was the site of the worst known accident at a French nuclear power plant. Unit I at St. Laurent is also to be dismantled, on April, 1990, while unit II is to be dismantled in 1992.)
Vandellos-1 has a history full of overheating as well as corrosion (which has occurred, as it happens, in the cooling system) and was operating only at 80-85% capacity when the accident occurred. After the Chernobyl disaster, CSN had ordered five modifications, but only two were made. One of the modifications not made related directly to the accident. CSN had asked for a modification that would make the four connections to the cooling system more independent of one another. Also recently, the plant's director said that it was impossible to put in a fifth connection because of the cost. According to WISE-Tarragona, if the four connections caught fire, the 3,000 tons of graphite installed inside of the reactor would catch fire as well.
While the four local mayors have joined WISE-Tarragona in calling for the shut-down, the plant's workers have declared their support for the plant. They claim that the calls to close the plant are motivated by political reasons and private interests. They said they would become belligerent against the individuals or groups that try to close down the plant.
Even the CSN has admitted to considering the fire to be the worst accident ever to have taken place in a Spanish nuclear power plant. Because of the importance of the incident, it is necessary that the public be informed about the investigation into the causes, development and consequences. Nevertheless, there has been no information or publicity to this day! According to WISE-Tarragona, the fire could have been avoided because the same kind of accident occurred at one of the two reactors at the Asco nuclear power plant. The Vandellos operators should have learned from it, but obviously didn't. Also according to the Tarragona office, the firefighting system at Vandellos-1 would not be able to pass inspection by the IAEA. In the meantime, CSN says it is premature to make pronouncements about the future of the reactor.
Others in the region also recognize the seriousness of the incident. On 26 October the mayors of the four neighboring cities demanding the shut-down held a meeting to analyze the situation and call for a demonstration to be held in front of the plant on 4 November. Meanwhile, organizations from the region's anti-nuclear movement, including WISE-Tarragona, called for a manifestation Friday, 27 October, in front of HIFRENSA's office in Barcelona. People were intending to go with umbrellas to symbolize the need for protection against nuclear fall-out.
Sources:
- WISE Tarragona
- El Pais (Spain) 22, 24, 25, 27 and 28 Oct. 1989
- Nuclear Power Reactors in the World, Apr. 1989 Edition.
Contact: WISE Tarragona.