Re: Temelin NPP : " Greenpeace activists block Czech embassy in Vienn

["Franz Schoenhofer" <franz.schoenhofer@chello.at>]

-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: Franta, Jaroslav <frantaj@aecl.ca>
An: Multiple recipients of list <radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu>
Datum: Dienstag, 03. Oktober 2000 13:57
Betreff: Temelin NPP : " Greenpeace activists block Czech embassy in Vienn


Being an Austrian citizen I have deliberatly not commented on Temelin until
now. Let me give some informations, which might shed some light on what is
really happening in Austria, regarding Temelin.


>>Greenpeace activists block Czech embassy in Vienna
>
>Meanwhile, protests against Temelin continue in neighbouring Austria and
>Germany. Greenpeace activists blocked the entrance to the Czech embassy in
>Vienna for several hours on Monday in protest against the planned
activation
>of the Temelin nuclear power plant . The protesters used mock nuclear waste
>barrels to block the embassy's main gate and carried banners warning of the
>risks of a nuclear accident. "A second Chernobyl in the middle of Europe
>must be avoided by all means" their spokesman said.

According to an article on page 6(!) of the paper "Der Standard" which I
have subscribed to, 40 (forty) Greenpeace activists (Austria has a
population of about 8 million) placed mock up yellow barrels in front of the
Czech embassy, chained themselves to the embassy (the accompanying photo did
not show anybody chained to anything) and displayed protest banners.
"Shortly after that" (not after hours) the police stopped the
demonstrations, and removed both demonstrators, barrels and banners.
According to the Greenpeace spokesman Franko Petri (does not sound very
Austrian and is unknown) the Czech embassy has requested the police action,
because the Greenpeace-action "vulnerates the dignity of the ambassy".

Now commenting to the blocking of the frontier transit points. Activists
blocked the border by tractors and vehicles on a few days during the last
weeks. Some dignities from the local governments even showed up to express
their sympathy. In Austria even a slight expression of a politician that he
is neutral in the case of Temelin and nuclear power would imply the
immediate end of his political career. So all of them, inclined or not have
to put forward their merits in the battle of fighting nuclear power in order
to be reelected. This does not prevent the head of the provincial government
of Upper Austria, who spoke at the blocked border recently, has negotiated
with a German company, which is heavily involved in Temelin, that they
should overtake a large part of the Upper Austrian Electricity Utility.
(Yesterdays news on "Der Standard".)

Last week I saw in the news videos from the blocked border. People were
laughing and at least smiling, in spite of the deadly threat from Temelin.
People shown were very young, indeed they were almost exclusively pupils,
who enjoyed having been granted leave from school in order to protest and
block. According to "Der Standard" the blocking became a kind of country
fair, hot dogs being served and softdrinks being sold, balloons being
distributed and symbols being carried by approximately four-years old kids.

There are much bigger problems in Austria now, especially created by our new
government, but of course "the show must go on". I do not want to comment on
the Austrian "experts" involved in the story - this would be too much honour
for them. Bilateral talks, inviting politicians to visit the NPP and to
check the security measures (!!!) is just a part of the political game in
order to "keep the face".

I think I wrote already too much, so I might end with the remark, that
everything distributed from my private e-mail address cannot be an official
statement, but only my own brilliant thoughts.

Franz




The Austrian government
>has asked the Czech authorities to postpone the launch of Temelin and allow
>an international team of nuclear experts to assess the plant's safety
>standard. Meanwhile, the Czech government maintains that the plant adheres
>to strict international safety norms and says that plans to activate it
will
>go ahead. The power utility CEZ, which built Temelin , is expected to ask
>the Czech Nuclear Energy Agency for permission to activate the plant within
>the space of a fortnight.
><><><><><><><><><><>
>
>Also, Nucleonics Week, Vol. 41 No. 39 September 28, 2000, reported that
>
>" Amid all the controversy over Temelin startup and the
>plant's repeated, if minor, equipment problems, the news
>that one of the most important hot pre-startup tests was
>successfully completed went almost unnoticed. The reactor
>control and limitation system, governed by a Westinghouse-supplied
>instrumentation & control system, worked as
>planned during tests Sept. 14-19, Nebesar said. Westinghouse-
>supplied fuel assemblies were also demonstrated to
>be compatible with fast drop of the control rods, he said.
>The control system was tested under cold conditions in mid-August.
>The fact that Temelin is basically a Soviet reactor
>design onto which CEZ grafted American technology has
>caused concern in some circles."
>
>Comment : this "concern" about westernized Soviet reactors does not, for
>some strange reason, apply to the Finnish VVER at Loviisa.
>
>Jaro
>frantaj@aecl.ca
>
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