All EU nuclear plants to be tested this year

STRESS tests on all nuclear plants in the EU will be carried out by the end of the year, the European Commission has said.

A voluntary accord struck at talks in Brussels is designed to bolster current high safety standards in the wake of the Japanese nuclear crisis, said EU Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger.

He was speaking after talks with experts from national nuclear safety authorities, nuclear plant operators and plant suppliers in the EU.

There was “general agreement”, said the commissioner, on the swift introduction of stress tests to a common EU standard.

“Next week we in the commission will organise further meetings to come up with proposals for how and when stress tests with common standards and criteria can be carried out for purposes of safety in the light of knowledge gleaned from the terrible events in Japan.

“This is a reassessment of all potential risks — earthquakes, tsunamis, terror attacks, cooling systems and operational activities, hazards including power cuts in situ, requirements for back-up systems, and design structures of nuclear power plants.”

The EU already has a nuclear safety directive covering the 143 nuclear plants in the member states, although Mr Oettinger emphasised that nuclear safety requirements remain “first and foremost” the responsibility of national authorities.

The directive was agreed in 2009, effectively implementing at EU level the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Fundamental Safety Principles and obligations required of nuclear states under a Convention on Nuclear Safety.

EU states already adhere to or exceed the requirements, but technical application of the directive in domestic law in the 27 countries is due to be completed by this July at the latest. Now the commissioner says plans for a 2014 review of the directive will be brought forward, with an interim report soon on whether the directive’s remit should be extended.

Asked why the tests were not to be made compulsory on national authorities he replied: “It is not possible to render this legally binding at EU level so quickly: if we review the directive we might do so but there was no time today, so we now have a voluntary agreement and we will conduct these tests just as soon as we have agreed on the criteria, the reach and extent of them. The tests will be carried out by recognised independent experts in the course of this year.”