German government demands Biblis nuclear report
Date: 19-Oct-01
Country: GERMANY
The plant, which is currently undergoing its annual maintenance period, would only be allowed to reopen when the problem had been fully assessed and corrective measures were in place, the ministry said in a press release.
"The ministry believes it is necessary that Biblis B only rejoins the grid when federal authorities have completed their safety and technical assessment," it said.
Operator RWE on Tuesday said the defects had been spotted in the corrosion protection system of the plant's cooling water cycle, delaying its restart.
Biblis B was shut for its annual overhaul during the weekend September 8/9 and had originally been due to be reconnected in the course of next week.
The federal ministry said it had been told by the environment ministry in Hesse state, where Biblis is located, that the corrosion damage had escaped checks for the last 23 years but new testing technology had revealed it now.
It also said it had asked the national commission on nuclear reactor safety (RSK) to discuss the problem at a meeting which had been specially put forward to October 24 from November 7.
Nuclear power is a controversial issue in Germany, where government and industry last year agreed to gradually phase out all reactors by the early 2020s.
There has been a spate of incidents amid increased security awareness recently which have resulted in a probe into security procedures at the currently closed Isar 1 plant operated by E.ON and the unplanned temporary closure of EnBW's Philippsburg II reactor following safety doubts there.
The unplanned outages have lent support to German spot power prices.