WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1492/98 by Hiltrud BREYER to the Commission. Mochovce
Date: 1998-05-13
Institutions: BREYER, European Parliament
Subjects: Slovakia, geology, health risk, nuclear power station, nuclear reactor, nuclear safety, seismology, siting of power stations

19. 11. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 354/103

(98/C 354/165)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1492/98

by Hiltrud Breyer (V) to the Commission

(13 May 1998)

Subject: Mochovce

Is  the  Commission  aware  that  the  nuclear  power  station  blocks  in  Mochovce  are  based  on  outmoded  Soviet
technology without containment dating from the 1970s and that the installation was built over a long period with
interruptions  of  several  years  on  a  site  which  was  demonstrably  unsuitable  from  the  seismic  and  geological
points of view, so that the installation is subject to a number of further incalculable risk factors?

(98/C 354/166)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1493/98

by Hiltrud Breyer (V) to the Commission

(13 May 1998)

Subject: Mochovce › Walkdown 2

Will the Commission use the conclusions of the international Mochovce commission (Walkdown 2) as a basis for
its future deliberations on the Mochovce nuclear power station?

(98/C 354/167)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1494/98

by Hiltrud Breyer (V) to the Commission

(13 May 1998)

Subject: Mochovce

Is the Commission aware that the conversion of a WWER 440/213 reactor at such a late stage has never before
been attempted and that the German authorities decided against such a conversion in the case of the Greifswald
nuclear power station because the danger was too great and the operation could only have been financed by the
tax-payer? The economically successful energy companies in Germany were not prepared to fund the elimination
of the 201 safety defects, considering the operation too hazardous and uneconomic.

In the light of the liberalisation of the European electricity market, what effects will the supplying of electricity
by the Greifswald-type Mochovce power station have on the European electricity market?

Joint answer
to Written Questions P-1465/98, E-1487/98, E-1488/98, E-1489/98,
E-1490/98, E-1491/98, E-1492/98, E-1493/98 and E-1494/98
given by Mr Van den Broek on behalf of the Commission

(5 June 1998)

The nuclear safety aspects of the programme to modernise the Mochovce power station were examined in 1994
by  the  independent  consultants  Riskaudit,  a  joint  venture  between  the  German  and  French  nuclear  safety
authorities  Gesellschaft  fu¤r  Reaktorsicherheit  (GRS)  and  Institut  de  protection  et  de  surete· nucle·aire  (IPSN),
following a loan application to Euratom/the EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development).

The Riskaudit survey provided an assurance that, providing the recommendations made were correctly and fully
implemented, the Mochovce plant would be built, managed and operated in accordance with the same safety
standards and practices applied in France and Germany.

The  Riskaudit  report  concluded  as  follows:  (cid:145)taking  into  account  the  existing  situation  at  Mochovce  and  the
implementation  of  approved  measures  proposed  (...)  it  can  be  concluded  that,  on  condition  the  IPSN-GRS
recommendations are correctly and exhaustively dealt by the utility, the construction, management and operation
of the plant will be in line with (...) Western safety requirements and practices.(cid:146)