Poor safety standards have forced a Dutch nuclear research facility to shut down its reactor from Friday 8 February. The decision follows pressure from the Dutch government and the European Union.
Jan Pronk, the Dutch environment minister 鈥渟trongly advised鈥� the temporary closure after government investigations concluded that safety procedures were not being implemented. 鈥淭he whole culture regarding safety at the site needs a general shake-up,鈥� he said.
NRG, the private company that operates the reactor, announced on Monday that they would be temporarily shutting the facility for three days to carry out safety checks and improve safety procedures.
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But Greenpeace鈥檚 Jorsis Thijssen told New Scientist: 鈥淚 think it is quite incredible that they think they will be able to change their safety culture in just three days.鈥�
Environmental activists have long campaigned for the reactor鈥檚 closure and think the government should have acted sooner. 鈥淣RG have flouted their own rules, covered up safety lapses, including the emergency generator not working,鈥� claims Thijssen. 鈥淭he company has proved it can鈥檛 manage a nuclear facility.鈥�
Hairline crack
There has been a series of violations of safety procedures. But the focus on the plant intensified on Monday after it emerged publicly that a hairline crack in the reactor was wider than previously thought.
The existence of the crack had been known since 1985 but new measurements in August 2001 found it was wider. It is not known if the difference is because the crack has grown or due to new, more precise measuring techniques. NRG deny that the crack is a safety risk.
A spokesperson for the Ministry for the Environment said that there was 鈥渃onfusion over the legal status of the plant鈥�. He said Pronk could not legally shut the reactor, because although it was privately operated, it was owned by the EU鈥檚 Joint Research Centre.
The 45MW, high flux reactor is mainly used for research and medical applications, such as the use of neutrons to irradiate brain tumours. It provides more than half of Europe鈥檚 medical isotopes.