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David Ballard

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>-----Original Message-----
>From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
>Of Ashwani Vasishth
>Sent: 28 July 2006 09:04
>To: Sustainability Planning News
>Cc: Nuclear Issues List:
>Subject: News: Current Heat Wave Shows Another Downside of Nuclear Power
>Plants
>
>http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=34121
>
>Heat Wave Shows Limits of Nuclear Energy
>Julio Godoy
>
>PARIS, Jul 27 (IPS) - The extreme hot summer in Europe is restricting
>nuclear energy generation and showing up the limits of nuclear power,
>leading environmental activists and scientists say.
>
>The heat wave since mid-June has led authorities in France, Germany, Spain
>and elsewhere in Europe to override their own environmental norms on the
>maximum temperature of water drained from the plants' cooling systems.
>
>The French government announced Jul. 24 that nuclear power plants situated
>along rivers will be allowed to drain hot water into rivers at higher
>temperature. The measure is intended "to guarantee the provision of
>electricity for the country," according to an official note.
>
>France has 58 nuclear power plants, which produce almost 80 percent of
>electricity generated in the country. Of these, 37 are situated near
rivers,
>and use them as outlet for water from their cooling systems.
>
>The drought accompanying the hot summer has reduced the volume of water in
>the rivers, and might force some power plants to shut down.
>
>Under normal circumstances, environment rules limit the maximum temperature
>for waste water in order to protect river flora and fauna.
>
>"For many years now, French authorities have defended nuclear power arguing
>that it is clean energy, good for the environment, and that it will help
>combat global warming, for it does not emit greenhouse gases," Stephane
>Lhomme, coordinator of the environmental network Sortir du Nucléaire (Phase
>Out Nuclear Power) told IPS.
>
>"Now, with global warming leading to extreme hot summers, we are witnessing
>that it is the other way round," Lhomme said. "Global warming is showing
>the limits of nuclear power plants, and nuclear power is destroying our
>environment."
>
>During the hot summer of 2003, French authorities had allowed nuclear power
>plants to drain excessively hot water into rivers, leading to considerable
>damage to flora and fauna, Lhomme said.
>
>According to the minutes of the National Surveillance Committee on water
>drained from reactors Aug. 21 and Sep. 3 2003, "hot water temperatures
>might have led to high concentrations of ammoniac, which is potentially
>toxic for the rivers' fauna."
>
>The minutes point to a European norm on the concentration of ammoniac in
>rivers, which France did not respect.
>
>Meanwhile France is importing some 2000 megawatts of power per day from
>neighbouring countries to compensate for shortages in production at nuclear
>power plants.
>
>While the French authorities have overridden their own environmental norms,
>in Germany energy providers have slowed down some nuclear reactors to limit
>waste water temperature and to protect flora and fauna.
>
>Reactors Kruemmel, Brunsbuettel and Brokdorf situated along the river Elbe
>which flows through Eastern and Northern Germany have all been slowed down.
>So have traditional fossil fuel power plants situated along the river
Rhine.
>
>The nuclear reactors Isar 1 near Munich, and Neckarwestheim near Stuttgart
>have being authorised to drain hotter water into the nearby rivers than
>normally allowed.
>
>In Spain, the nuclear power plant at Santa Maria de Garoña, one of eight
>Spanish reactors, was shut down last weekend due to the high temperatures
>recorded in the river Ebro, into which the reactor drains the water used in
>its cooling system.
>
>The power plant, Spain's oldest, provides 20 percent of the electricity
>generated in the country.
>
>German energy expert Hermann Scheer says the situation shows a need for
>radical change in policy. "We must massively invest in renewable energy
>sources, and get rid of nuclear power as soon as possible," he told IPS.
>
>Scheer is president of Eurosolar, the European association for renewable
>energy resources, and winner of the 'Alternative Nobel prize' for his
>commitment to the environment.
>
>In France, nuclear scientist Hubert Reeves urged the government to "invest
>massively" in renewable energy resources. "We are behind many of our
>European partners such as Germany, Denmark and Spain in this matter, and
>cannot wait until the energy crisis reaches its climax to find an
>alternative to our present model," he told IPS.
>
>A crisis, he said, "is round the corner." Fossil energy sources are about
>to be exhausted, and "nuclear technology will not solve present problems
>within a reasonable period of time.we should abandon nuclear power and
>invest in alternative sources." (END/2006)
>
>
>Copyright © 2006 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved.
>
>***   NOTICE:  In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this
>material is distributed, without profit, for research and educational
>purposes only.   ***
>
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