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Resistance against NPP Mochovce

Nuclear Monitor Issue: 
#408
18/03/1994
Article

(March 18, 1994) The first big demonstration against the completion of NPP Mochovce in the Slovak Republic was held in Levice region on Saturday, February 19. There were about 200 participants in the protest march over the town Levice: besides local inhabitants, there were members of many environmental NGOs not only from all Slovakia (Greenpeace, Children of the Earth, Ipel Union, SZOPK, Tree of Life, Association Slatinka, etc.) but from foreign countries as well (Austria Greenpeace, Global 2000, Mothers for Nuclear Free Future, Germany Bund, citizen initiatives from Schwandorf).

(408.4040) WISE Amsterdam - The demonstration passed to the main square of Levice: it was the parody to the opening of the first radwaste storage in the territory of Slovakia. The ribbon was festively cut over by minister of radiation of Slovak Republic.

The expert seminar on ecological and economic questions of nuclear energy was held the same day as well. It was organised by local Citizen Initiative for Conversion of the Plant Mochovce. The meeting with representatives of economy and energy sector was held on Sunday February 20 where arguments on both parts were discussed.

The environmentalists and local people have reservations against the completion of NPP Mochovce because of several reasons.

  • First, from the aspect of safety - a nuclear power plant with obsolete Russian reactors (type VVER 440/ 213 coming from 70ies) would not be permitted to operate anywhere in the West at present. Planned installing of western safety techniques raises up further questions because the cooperation of two so expressively different technologies is very doubtful.
     
  • Second, ecological and health risks of potential leakage of radioactivity must not be omitted. Their consequences on the health of inhabitants or on the environment are far-reaching and can be even disastrous.
     
  • Third, economic arguments are not less serious: despite already invested DM 1.2 billion (US$706 million), the loan of the EBRD will require at least further DM 1.5 billion (US$882 million) for direct completion itself. Other expenses including such enormous items as the decommissioning of the plant or liquidation of spent fuel and radwaste are only to be expected, without their existing estimation. The loan is disadvantageous for Slovakia which will carry all this investment its paying, guarantees for safety of operation, consequences of defects and crashes, impacts on environment, etc. Western investors who are dictating conditions will buy extremely cheap electricity for 5-6 pfennigs/kWh (3,5 dollarcents) against the price of 16-20 pfennigs/kWh (10,5 dollarcents) in Germany (!). The share of Slovak Energy Utilities, SEP in present share-holding company is 49% against 51% of EDF, and expected joining of Bayernwerk, resp. Preussen Elektra will probably decrease it much more.

The EBRD should already have decided about the loan in March 1994 but this decision was postponed to July August. At present, the process of Environmental Impact Assessment of the Mochovce project has started. Though Greenpeace and Children of the Earth presented deep interest for their regular participation in the ETA and relevant documents a long time ago, SEP provided basic proposal of the contents of Mochovce ETA for commenting only after Greenpeace from Bratislava had urged the EBRD. Moreover, the time for comments was very short.

"We have a big number of serious comments to the contents of future ETA that are of really substantial importance," said Lubica Trubiniova, leader of Greenpeace' campaign For Nuclear Free Slovakia. "The most important is the fact that suggested contents deals with the sole theme how to complete the plant, and does not investigate any other possibility. It is manipulation. We demand that all variants, including both non-action alternative and the conversion of the plant to another source of fuel, were involved in ETA and equivalently judged. We are convinced that objective least cost analysis as well as the analysis of real energy needs of Slovakia would clearly show disadvantages of the nuclear power plant."

"Further circumstance that has to be respected by the EBRD is regular public participation in the project. The similar case as it was at the deciding about the loan for the reconstruction of the aluminum plant in Ziar nad Hronom must not repeat. Then, we obtained documents word for word in a last minute and thus, we had no possibility to influence the project. Anyway, we demand in time and complete information as well as keeping of all procedures from the part of both SEP and the EBRD," said Lubica Trubiniova.

Source and Contact: Lubica Trubiniova, Greenpeace nuclear campaigner Slovakia. Tel + Fax: +42 7 313 968 or SZOPK Ecocentrum Levice. Tel: +42 813 212 30