Vulnerability of nuclear power plants to terrorist attacks

24.10.2017

Question for written answer E-006619-17
to the Commission
Rule 130
Rachida Dati (PPE)

According to a report commissioned and published by Greenpeace in October 2017 on nuclear safety in France, the safety level of nuclear power plants is ‘alarming’. This report highlights the fragility of spent fuel storage pools, owing to the thinness of their walls, which are only a few centimetres thick. There are 58 such pools in France, one for each nuclear reactor.

Fuel storage pools are intended to provide protection from the radioactivity released by the spent fuel and the cooling of the spent fuel. An attack on these pools could have a devastating impact. Breaches in the walls would result in particular in the fusion of fuel and radioactive flows. Such breaches were found during the Fukushima tragedy in March 2011.

Experts estimate that investments of between EUR 140 to 222 billion are needed to strengthen the structures of the cooling pools of nuclear reactors in France.

In April 2014, Parliament adopted its position on the proposal to amend the 2009 Directive establishing a Community framework for the safety of nuclear installations. Will the Commission adopt new measures to further protect nuclear power plants from external attacks?