Safety of EPR nuclear reactors

This Tuesday, 16 May, the spokesperson of the organisation 'Sortir du nucléaire' was arrested by the French secret service (DST) for possession of a classified defense document on the safety of nuclear power plants that had already been widely circulated. While he has since been released, the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament is concerned at the aggressive attempt to suppress information that should be in the public domain.

The document, a study undertaken by French electricity firm EDF, concerned the safety of 'European Pressurised Reactors' (EPR), the latest technology in nuclear reactors. It outlines the potential consequences of an aircraft crashing into the new central nuclear EPR in Flamanville. It showed that the future EPR to be constructed at Flamanville, France - as well as a similar construction in Olkiluoto, Finland - would not resist an accident or a terrorist attack, such as those carried out in the USA on 11 September 2001.

The Greens/EFA group has decided to publish this document on its website because there is a need to lift the veil of secrecy that shrouds the debate on nuclear power in France and Europe and to make sure French and European citizens have access to all available information on nuclear power.

Click here to download the document in French (pdf)