Sat, Jul 04 2009

LOCAL ECOLOGISTS WARN EC AGAINST BULGARIA'S BELENE NPP

Fri, Nov 23 2007 20:48 CET byElitsa Savova 479 Views
LOCAL ECOLOGISTS WARN EC AGAINST BULGARIA'S BELENE NPP

On November 23 2007, a nuclear expert together with environmental groups from Bulgaria called on the European Commission (EC) not to approve the construction of Bulgaria's second nuclear power plant (NPP) in Belene.

The place where the NPP was to be built was in a seismic zone, they warned, as quoted by Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Georgi Kaschiev, former head of Bulgaria's nuclear safety authority, said that "the Commission, and President (Jose Manuel) Barroso, are unfortunately playing Russian roulette with our citizens and our societies."

The EC "was preparing to endorse the project without studying all the risks," Kaschiev and the environmentalist groups said. In Late 1970's nearly 120 people died in an earthquake in the town of Svishtov, which is some 14 km from Belene, they said.

According to environmental groups, the NPP construction would force Bulgaria's government to apply for millions of euros in EU loans.

Russian company Atomstroyexport would construct the NPP. The environmentalists reminded that is 84 per cent of the company was owned by Russian Gazprom, and the NPP construction would make Bulgaria more dependent on Russia.

AFE quoted Greenpeace Europe nuclear expert Jan Haverkamp as saying that Belene "was an important test-case, as other central European countries are considering plans for new nuclear power plants or reviving old ones from communist times."

Write comment

Name: Comment:
Send your comment

More in this category

Bulgaria busts vote-buying operation

In a blow against a problem that has been plaguing Bulgaria’s elections, State Agency for National Security and Interior Ministry say several people in a ‘major criminal organisation’ have been arrested for vote-buying, on the eve of the July 5 vote.

Borissov’s party, socialists both make slight gains – new polls

Barometer Info survey on July 3 2009, just ahead of the eve of Bulgaria’s national parliamentary elections, gives GERB 27.05 per cent and Sergei Stanishev’s Coalition for Bulgaria 19.09 per cent.

Rousse Shipyards sack workers following strike

The exact number of people sacked from duty out of the 600 who refused to go to work on Monday is undisclosed, although reports claim that as of June 3 at least four people were told they were surplus to requirements.

Policy Brief: Bulgaria’s July 5 parliamentary elections

Open your mind and face the unknown: the 2009 general elections in Bulgaria.

Ban on the sale of liquor takes effect on election day July 5

City halls have the power to decide the time frame of the ban on alcohol in stores, bars and restaurants

© 2000-2009, Sofia Echo Media Ltd.

Web Design by RIZN

The news and information content on this website is provided by our editorial team and is copyrighted. Any unauthorised reproduction or use of it is strictly forbidden. Reproduction of this website's content is permitted only with prior written permission from the Editor-in-Chief, should be propertly acredited and provide an active link back to our site. Comments posted by the website's visitors are independent of the editorial materials and do not represent the views of sofiaecho.com. Sofia Echo Media cannot be held responsible for the statements contained in visitor comments. The percentаge change in the shares' prices are based on the price of the last transaction of the current session compared to the price of the last transaction of the previous session. Bulgarian Stock Exchange data is not real-time, but updated every 15 minutes, and should not be used as a basis for decisions about buying or selling stock options.