Nuclear Energy

The report mentions 16 “events” in 9 countries, all of which could have snowballed into a
major accident: June 18, 1988, Tihange-1 (Belgium); February 9, 1991, Mihama-2 (Japan); April 3,
1991, Shearon Harris (USA); July 28, 1992, Barseback-2 (Sweden); February 7, 1993, Three Mile
Island (USA); May 12, 1998, Civaux-1 (France); December 27, 1999, Blayais-2 (France); July
2000, Farley (USA); March 18, 2001, Maanshan (Taiwan); August 12, 2001, Philippsburg
(Germany); December 14, 2001, Brunsbüttel (Germany); March 6, 2002, Davis Besse (USA);
August 29, 2002, 17 TEPCO Reactors (Japan); April 2003, Paks (Hungary); March 1, 2005,
Kozloduy-5 (Bulgaria); July 25, 2006, Forsmark (Sweden).
Mycle Schneider, the renowned nuclear consultant and coordinator of this study, states, “In
the course of the last twenty years, the world has lived with the illusion that it is possible to make
nuclear reactors safe. In reality, every day, countless incidents occur in nuclear reactors, and, since
Chernobyl, catastrophe has, on several occasions, only narrowly been avoided.” clv
Let us briefly discuss two of these incidents.
David-Besse, 2002
In recent years, the most serious episode involving a US nuclear reactor took place at the
Davis-Besse plant in Ohio in 2002. The reactor came within days or weeks of a major catastrophe.
To save money, the owner of the reactor, First Energy, had persuaded the NRC to delay
inspection of a vital safety component. When the plant was finally shut down, safety inspectors
found that corrosion had eaten away the outer six inch thick carbon steel cover of the reactor vessel.
The inner lining of the reactor vessel was of 3/16 inch stainless steel, and high pressure inside the
reactor vessel had caused the stainless steel lining to bulge outwards into the cavity caused by the
corrosion. Fortunately, the stainless steel bent, but did not rupture. The emergency core cooling
system was also not working. Had the stainless steel ruptured, the core cooling water would have
leaked, and with the emergency cooling system also inoperable, it would most probably have led to
a cascade of events culminating in a reactor meltdown. clvi
First Energy knew about the corrosion, but in order to continue production, had delayed
informing about it to the NRC. It was ordered to pay a fine of $28 million in 2004, which was
barely one percent of its profits in that year. clvii
Forsmark, 2006
In an even more serious accident, on July 25, 2006, the Forsmark nuclear power station in
Sweden came within just 2 hours of a meltdown. The Forsmark accident was caused by the failure
of back-up generators following a problem with the main power supply. Without power supply, the
reactor cooling system stops functioning, which can lead to sharp spike in temperature and a
meltdown within just two hours. According to a former director of the plant, “it was pure luck there
wasn't a meltdown”. clviii
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