THE safety of a new breed of nuclear reactor has been thrown into doubt by a leaked French report showing that it has not been designed to withstand a 9/11-style attack from the air.
The European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) is seen by many in the nuclear industry as the great hope for the future. The first EPR is already under construction at Olkiluoto in Finland, and it is the most likely type of reactor to be built in the UK if the prime minister, Tony Blair, achieves his declared aim of putting nuclear power 鈥渂ack on the agenda鈥�.
The report was prepared in 2003 by the power company 脡lectricit茅 de France for the French nuclear safety regulator IRSN. EDF says the design is capable of resisting an accidental crash by a 5-tonne military fighter, and from this it argues that the reactor could survive the impact of a much larger and heavier commercial airliner.
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鈥淭he reactor has not been designed to withstand a terrorist attack from the air鈥�
This conclusion is 鈥渆ntirely unjustified鈥�, according to an evaluation of the report commissioned by Greenpeace from independent nuclear expert John Large. Such an attack on a reactor would cause 鈥渁 total calamity鈥� and release large amounts of radioactivity, the Greenpeace report claims. To protect the reactors, they would have to be covered with a specially hardened concrete superstructure, or built underground.
A spokeswoman from EDF said the design had been 鈥渕odified鈥� since 9/11 to withstand a hit from a fully loaded commercial aircraft. On security grounds, however, she declined to say what the modifications were.
