LONDON , Responding to Germany's request that the Czech government consider closing the Temelin nuclear reactor, the head of the World Nuclear Association today called for Germany's environmental minister to get his facts straight and stop trying to impose a minority German ideology on others.
"For two years, the world has watched as ideologues have pointed Germany away from rationality in pursuit of the Green fantasy of a world powered by bicycles, solar panels and windmills. No serious analyst believes that Germans can meet their 21 st century carbon-reduction goals without maintaining the clean nuclear energy that Mr. Trittin is so determined to destroy," said WNA Director General John Ritch.
"It is sad enough that the vagaries of coalition politics have enabled Mr. Trittin to impose his minority ideology in Germany. There is no reason why the world should stand silently by while he tries to do similar harm to a sovereign and responsible neighbour," said Ritch.
Ritch, who was U.S. representative at the IAEA in Vienna throughout the Clinton administration, said, "For years, Czech officials have laboured rigorously to demonstrate that the Temelin reactor is safe. They have invited repeated inspections by the IAEA, the West European Nuclear Regulators Association and a special delegation from the EU. None of these groups has identified a problem at Temelin that cannot be satisfied by normal safety procedures. Indeed, this unprecedented scrutiny has yielded a strong positive result."
"For example," Ritch noted, "the WENRA report found that:
"In addition, WENRA reported that 'the regulatory regime and regulatory body in the Czech Republic are comparable with Western European practice. A well-defined licensing process according to Western practice is in place'."
Earlier this year, Czech authorities allowed Temelin to be the subject of a three-week IAEA safety inspection mission. The review team reported favourably after paying particular attention to plant workers' knowledge of operating and safety rules and to the ability of CEZ, the Czech national power utility, to operate Temelin according to international standards.
Also, at the end of last year, the Czech Government agreed to establish a joint Czech-Austrian commission of independent experts to help allay Austrian concerns about the Temelin plant. In April this year, this commission reported its findings, concluding that the reactor is safe. The study will form the basis of further Czech-Austrian discussions.
"In the face of this honourable Czech behaviour," said Ritch, "we find Mr. Trittin playing ideological games at Prague's expense. While Mr. Trittin talks about a clean energy future, the Czech government is seeking to build one. Germany should do the same. Nuclear energy has served Germany well, and we must hope that Germany's current policy is an aberration that will not survive the unfortunate coalition that produced it. Meanwhile, Germany's Greens should reconsider the environmental costs of Mr. Trittin's illusions, which would take us to the greenhouse through the dream house."
"The Czech Government has been eminently responsible toward its own citizens and its European neighbours. As the world struggles toward an energy strategy to prevent catastrophic climate change, serious-minded Greens everywhere should recognize that policies like Mr. Trittin's pose a far greater hazard than Temelin."