SUJB studied German assessment before issuing Temelin permit -Krs

["Franta, Jaroslav" <frantaj@aecl.ca>]

http://www.ctknews.com/
SUJB studied German assessment before issuing Temelin permit -Krs
PRAGUE, July 8 (CTK) - The Czech State Nuclear Safety Office (SUJB) received
an assesment by German experts of safety risks of the Temelin nuclear power
plant before it issued a permit for loading fuel to Temelin, SUJB deputy
head Petr Krs said in reaction to German minister Juergen Trittin's words
today.
In a statement Trittin (Greens) said the decision [by the Czech State
Nuclear Safety Institute, SUJB) was "surprising" and "aimed against the
security interests of Germany."
Trittin said that the "premature" issuing of the loading permit "makes it
impossible to examine the real safety of the Temelin plant in its decisive
aspects, on the basis of an inependent analysis."
Krs told CTK that "German experts confirmed to us at a meeting in Garching
near Munich on May 31 that they had not detected any serious findings which
could threaten the approval procedure."
He said the official report summing up the findings of German experts would
be released in November.
Cooperation between Czech and German experts is based on an agreement on the
exchange of information which the SUJB has signed with the German
Environment Ministry.

Klaus, Falbr agree Temelin referendum has no longer sense
PRAGUE/TEMELIN, South Bohemia, July 9 (CTK) - It is no longer possible to
stage a referendum on the launch of the Temelin nuclear power plant now,
after 14 years of the plant's construction, ex-premier Vaclav Klaus and
CMKOS umbrella union leader and senator Richard Falbr agreed today.
Klaus said the idea promoted by environmentalists, that the referendum be
held now [when the plant was completed and is waiting for activation] is
"immensely false".
Since July 1, activists from four Czech environmental organisations have
been camping out in the distance of about one kilometre of the plant.
The camp's leader Katerina Petrasova told CTK today that the a petition in
support for the referendum would be submitted to the lower house's petition
committee on Tuesday. "At the same time we call on the government to prevent
the activation of the plant's nuclear fuel until the parliament decides on
the referendum bill," she said.

Havel regrets that no referendum is held on launch of Temelin
PRAGUE, July 9 (CTK) - President Vaclav Havel today supported the idea of a
referendum being held on the launch of the nuclear plant which has been
completed in Temelin, south Bohemia.
Before his departure for Croatia, Havel also told journalists that he
worried about how quickly the process of loading fuel to Temelin's first
bloc had started [on Wednesday].
"This bears symptoms of an underhand deal and a kind of bad conscience,"
Havel said. He added that he was monitoring the situation with worry and
anxiousness.
Immediately after it received the relevant permit from the State Nuclear
Safety Office (SUJB), the CEZ energy utility, Temelin's investor, started on
Wednesday loading fuel to Temelin, in spite of protests of
environmentalists. The loading is to take some 10 days.
Havel said it seemed to him that there was an effort to create a certain
situation and prevent democratic discussion.

Rychetsky rules out referendum on Temelin or talks with Austria
PRAGUE, July 4 (CTK) - Deputy Premier Pavel Rychetsky today ruled out that a
referendum could take place on the putting of the Temelin nuclear power
station into operation or that the Czech and Austrian premiers, Milos Zeman
and Wolfgang Schuessel, would hold talks on the problem.
"No such negotiations are planned," Rychetsky (Social Democrats, CSSD) told
CTK. He said the Czech Republic had joined the EU's sanctions against
Austria in connection with the nationalist Freedom Party's entry into the
government.
"Bilateral relations with Austrian government officials have been fozen,"
Rychetsky said in reaction to Schuessel's statement today that [Vienna]
should discuss problems related to the planned start of Temelin's operation
with their counterparts in the Czech government, including on the level of
premiers.
Rychetsky said that a referendum on the launch of Temelin, as demanded by
environmentalists and supported by more than 100,000 petition signatories so
far, "will not and cannot take place", as the current Czech constitutional
order does not allow for it.

Some 63 percent of Czechs support start of Temelin - poll
PRAGUE, June 26 (CTK) - A total of 63 percent of Czechs supported the launch
of the nuclear power plant at Temelin, south Bohemia, at the turn of May and
June which is 13 percent more compared to April, a poll conducted by the
IVVM polling agency shows.
The supporters most often press their point by the money already invested in
the construction of the plant.
On the other hand, eighteen percent of the opponents of the launch of
Temelin point to the possibility of a nuclear catastrophe.


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