Germany and the Netherlands express concerns over Doel

The Dutch government will for the first time carry out a joint inspection of the Doel nuclear power plant with the Belgian authorities on 20 January. The visit follows an incident with the Doel 1 reactor last week, which was shut down because of a faulty alternator.

“Both governments had agreed last year that there would be joint inspections, and this is a good moment to share our views,” according to a spokesperson for federal home affairs minister Jan Jambon. Both the Dutch and the German governments have expressed concern over the safety of the reactors, located in East Flanders, after a number of incidents in recent weeks.

Prior to the current incident, the Doel 3 reactor was shut down unexpectedly on 24 December after a leak was discovered in the high-temperature water pipes leading to the steam generators in the non-nuclear part of the complex. The incident took place just four days after Doel 3 had been brought back into service following a nine-month shutdown to investigate microscopic cracks in the reactor casing. The reactor was reconnected on 30 December.

The problem with the alternator at Doel 1 led to an automatic shutdown at the weekend, which Jambon said was proof of the effectiveness of safety measures.

The Dutch socialists have said they would like to see the plant shut down entirely, while Dutch party Democrats 66 recently noted the age of the reactors in parliament, emphasising that “if something goes wrong, it’s not just a problem at the Belgian border”.

Next week Dutch environment minister Melanie Schultz will visit Doel with representatives of the Dutch nuclear safety agency ANVS, as well as Belgian counterparts Jambon and Fanc. “This is something that happens often in Europe,” Jambon’s spokesperson said. “Belgium carries out inspections together with the French, for instance. It’s not a question of one country checking up on the other; it’s a question of exchanging best practices.”

Photo courtesy Wwuyts/Wikimedia