German call to scrap Temelin
Although the Czech nuclear power plant Temelin is to be activated within a few weeks, worries over its safety are still causing concern not only to environmental organizations but also to officials from neighbouring countries. The latest news comes from Germany. The country's Environment Minister Juergen Trittin has hit the headlines by calling on the Czech government to scrap plans to activate the Temelin plant. More from Lucie Krupickova:
safety of the controversial nuclear power plant Temelin, after Juergen Trittin said a study commissioned by the German government revealed potential problems with the plant´s safety mechanisms in emergency situations.
According to the chairwoman of the Nuclear Safety Office, Dana Drabova, the last round of safety tests at the plant revealed no major problems and the Czech power company CEZ will get approval to activate the fuel in Temelin during the fist week of September. I talked to the spokesperson at the Czech Ministry of Environment, Rita Gabrielova, and asked her what it is the Germans are so worried about. According to Czech environmentalists the Czech Republic should take the German concerns seriously. Edvard Sequens, from the environmental organization Calla, said that the results of the German government's study were not surprising. In his words a similar power plant to Temelin would not be accepted in Germany and therefore there is no wonder that the German environment minister rejects it.
