Publication - 16 May, 2007
When the Finnish company TVO ordered a European Pressurized Water Reactor from the French company Areva, Finland became the first industrialized country in more than a decade to start nuclear construction. The reactor was supposed to “set a new standard for nuclear safety”, help fulfill Kyoto targets and provide Finnish heavy industry with electricity that is competitive on the free market. Now it seems that none of these promises will be fulfilled: already in 2006 there were more than 700 reported quality and safety problems; the project is 18 months behind schedule, at least EUR700 million over budget and subsidized by French taxpayers; claimed emission reductions will not be realized and emission credits will be bought with taxpayers’ money.
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Executive summary: Dr. Helmut Hirsch has about 30 years of experience as nuclear expert. He has been working for the Austrian Federal Government as well as for German state governments and municipal administrations. He is a member of the Austrian Environment Ministry's Nuclear Advisory Board since 1990. Recent work includes technical support for the Austrian monitoring process of the Czech Temelín nuclear power plant; member of an OECD/NEA expert group.
Num. pages: 2