(June 25, 1992) The small Dutch nuclear reactor at Dodewaard (54 MW) is presently operating without a valid license. On the 3rd of June the Raad van State (the highest court in the Netherlands) ruled that the license given in 1988 which replaced the first license from 1968 is invalid.
(374/5.3669) WISE Amsterdam - The reason for the court ruling was that there was no opportunity for the public to participate in the decision when the license came up for renewal - something which is legally required. The request for the renewal was not published, nor were town and provincial authorities even informed the license was up for renewal.
There was another important reason for the decision. According to the Raad van State the safety report done for the 1988 license is simply not good enough. The plant's operators had not brought the plant up to the standards expected following the changes in views on nuclear safety since the first license was granted in 1968. Recent developments show, for instance, that accidents and catastrophes which had been thought of as impossible in the late sixties, are now less unlikely. This makes it impossible to fall back on the license given in 1968 to continue the plants operation, claims Natuur en Milieu, one of the parties to the court case which brought about the ruling.
However, in the Netherlands this doesn't automatically mean that the reactor is closed until a new license is given (which is estimated to be about two years). The Ministries responsible for the plant can allow continued operation. The Minister of Economic Affairs, Andriessen - a well known advocate of nuclear power - is willing to do so. He has also made clear that he wants to see some changes in license-proceedings because he thinks it takes too much time. Although he claims that he doesn't want to change the regulations allowing for the public participation in the licensing proceedings, it is obvious that that's going to happen if he gets what he wants. [As this is exactly what is happening in the US, he is sure to be watching events there closely. See article on US licensing, see next article.]
Source: Trouw (NL), 4 & 9 June 1992
Contact: Natuur en Milieu, Donkerstraat 17, 3511 KB Utrecht, The Netherlands; tel: +31 30-331328