WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1961/98 by Amedeo AMADEO to the Commission. Danger of radioactivity in the Alps
Date: 1998-06-30
Institutions: AMADEO, European Parliament
Subjects: Europe, Ukraine, health legislation, mountain region, nuclear accident, public health, radiation protection, radioactive pollution

C 96/18

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

8.4.1999

(1999/C 96/024)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1957/98

by Laura GonzÆlez `lvarez (GUE/NGL) and Pedro Marset Campos (GUE/NGL)
to the Commission

Subject: Construction of small hydro power plants in Galicia (Spain)

(30 June 1998)

The autonomous government of Galicia (Spain) is planning to authorize the construction of more than 200 small
hydro electric power plants, using EU funds provided under different Community.

Given that Galicia is one of the autonomous Spanish communities which exports more than half its output of
electricity, that it currently has various projects for the construction of wind parks and reservoirs and that it has
over 100 small hydro power plants in operation which have destroyed areas of great ecological value and natural
beauty,

1.

Is the Commission aware of this situation?

2. Has the Commission received any applications from the Spanish national and regional authorities for funding

for the project to build more small hydro electric plants?

3.

If the project is being financed with Community funds, can the Commission say what sums have been
authorized and on the basis of what criteria?

4. Assuming that the project is implemented, what measures does the Commission intend to take to ensure that
the competent authorities carry out a detailed study, with advice from experts in the field, to determine both
the health and the environmental implications of the project, in accordance with Directive 85/337/EEC (1) on
the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment?

(1) OJ L 175, 5.7.1985, p. 40.

Answer given by Mrs Wulf-Mathies on behalf of the Commission

(31 July 1998)

The Commission believes that only 30 of the small hydroelectric power stations to which the Honourable
Members refer were authorised.

It has received no request for part-financing by the European Regional Development Fund or by the Cohesion
Fund for this project.

If the Spanish authorities submitted such a request, the Commission would carry out a thorough analysis of the
case. A decision to part-finance the project would be taken only if it complied with all Community policies,
including that on the environment.

(1999/C 96/025)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1961/98

by Amedeo Amadeo (NI) to the Commission

(30 June 1998)

Subject: Danger of radioactivity in the Alps

Twelve years after the explosion of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor, the radioactive fallout that affected Europe is
once again giving cause for concern in view of its persistence in certain Alpine regions.

The Committee for Independent Research and Information on Radioactivity (CRII-Rad) has referred to
(cid:145)alarming(cid:146) levels of radioactivity at various Alpine sites, not only on the French side but also in the Italian,
Swiss and Austrian Alps. According to Corinne Castanier, CRII-Rad spokesman, in the case of 40 samples taken
from various Alpine areas, at altitudes varying from 1 500 to 2 800 meters, caesium 137 levels of hundreds of
thousands of bequerels per kilo were recorded. The most contaminated samples were taken from Cortina
d(cid:146)Ampezzo, Mount Cervino, the Mercantour (French Alps) and Hohe Tauern (Austrian Alps). The latest
European directive, which will enter into force in 2000, classifies a sample registering 10 000 bequerels as
radioactive. These samples, therefore, are well above the danger level. The samples examined also yielded other