[ RadSafe ] Commission calls for tougher EU nuclear safety standards

[Marcel Schouwenburg]

Reuters reports

 - The European Union's executive Commission renewed its call for
tougher EU nuclear safety standards on Tuesday after part of
Britain's Sellafield nuclear site was closed down after a broken
pipe leaked.

The Commission is trying to push through new EU legislation that
would create unified standards on safety at nuclear installations 
throughout the 25-nation bloc, but has faced opposition from
countries like Britain and Germany.

"The recent Sellafield incident shows once more that the EU should  be
allowed overall framework control for the safety of nuclear
installations," Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs said in a
statement.

"It is not possible to continue to function efficiently in relation  to
the varying national legislation in force. In an area as
sensitive as nuclear energy, it is essential to show the greatest  form of
transparency."

Piebalgs' predecessor on the energy brief, Loyola de Palacio,
amended the Commission's controversial proposals for nuclear safety  and
waste management legislation in September.

The revised rules would require member states to create plans for  dealing
with radioactive waste, though a Commission-imposed deadline  for those
plans was dropped from the proposal to win backing from  some sceptical EU
governments.

British Nuclear Group on Monday confirmed it had shut part of the 
Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant after engineers discovered
faults in some pipework.

Sellafield's managing director Barry Snelson said the plant was in a  safe
and stable condition.

"Safety monitoring has confirmed no abnormal activity in air and
there has been no impact on our workforce or the environment," he  said in
a statement.

The Commission has been at odds with Britain over Sellafield before.  Last
autumn the EU executive said it was taking Britain to court for  failing
to grant EU inspectors full access to part of the site that  stores highly
radioactive waste

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Marcel Schouwenburg
RadSafe moderator & listowner



Marcel Schouwenburg
Hoofd afdeling Opleidingen Delft
Nationaal Centrum voor StralingsVeiligheid (NCSV)

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