Cernavodă plant ‘is extremely safe’

The Cernavodă plant is extremely safe in terms of nuclear security, but the events in Japan oblige to additional checks.

This was one of the conclusions the congressmen in the economic commission had, following the hearings of several officials in the Ministry of Economy, the National Commission for the Control of Nuclear Power, the Cernavodă plant and the nuclear-electric leadership.

The topic of the discussion was nuclear safety, as a result of major unforeseen events.

The Cernavodă automated plant ranks first worldwide in operating CANDU plants and number twelve out of 436 nuclear power plants.

It is a safe plant, designed to cope with an earthquake measuring 8 on the Richter scale, Director Ionel Bucur said.

‘What we have so far so solid enough and the project is designed well enough to meet the standards. We will definitely improve these safety conditions. On the basis of experience gained, we will learn many lessons and we’ll make the checks that, in fact, the European Commission is asking for. The European Commission is now working on the checking criterion for each type of nuclear power plant’, Ionel Bucur stated.

He also said that a joint commission, consisting of representatives of the National Commission for Nuclear Activity Control of the Parliament and the Minister of Economy, will investigate through specific tests all the security structures in the Cernavodă nuclear power plant.

The conclusions will be included in a report that is to be submitted to the European Commission in the second half of the year.

Translated by: Manuela Stancu

MA Student, MTTLC, Bucharest University