(June 22, 1990) Spanish Minister of Industry Claudio Aranzadi announced on 30 May to the Spanish Parliament that the Vandellos-1 nuclear power plant will no longer be allowed to operate. The plant had been shut down after a fire on 19 October 1989 destroyed one of the two turbines and gravely affected most of the safety systems, mainly the cooling system.
(334.3333) WISE Tarragona - When the announcement that the plant would be permanently closed was made known publicly, parties were organized in villages close to the plant and 1000 bottles of champagne were passed around. On 3 June, a celebration, starting in front of the main entrance to the plant and finishing with a lunch at the nearby beach was held.
Vandellos-1 is a 500 megawatt Gas Cooled Graphite Moderated Reactor (GCR), using Natural Uranium as fuel. It started operation in May 1972 and was sold to Spain by the French CEA as a turnkey. In other words, there was no Spanish participation - everything was supplied by the French. A sister plant in France, Sant Laurent-des-Eaux Al, was closed down last April and the remaining three French GCRs will be closed down within two years under a program approved by the Electricite de France (EDF) board in March 1988.
For the local Spanish anti-nuclear movement, which rose up strongly after the October fire, this is the end of the first chapter in the fight to close down the plant. Eloi Nolla of the Comite Antinuclear l'Ametlla de Mar (The Anti-Nuclear Committee of l'Ametlla de Mar, a village located 8 km from the plant), said that "now we have to monitor and follow up all the operations related to the decommissioning of the plant to avoid any spread of radioactive pollution". Empresa Nacional de Residous Radiactivos SA (ENRESA), the Spanish government company in charge of radioactive waste, has no plans for the decommissioning because it was expected that Vandellos-1 would not finish it's lifetime until the year 2003, and decommissioning would not have begun until 2008. Local opposition has asked the Spanish Nuclear Safety Board to immediately prepare a decommissioning plan. And local groups want to participate in a commission to follow up these works.
There are several reasons for closing down the plant in spite of the fact that the Ministry claims that economics is the sole reason.
Firstly, local opposition to the re-starting of Vandellos-1 has been a very important factor in the plant's closing. This opposition has been lead by the village of l'Ametlla de Mar. An anti-nuclear committee was set up almost immediately after the October accident to mobilize people and put pressure on the government to not allow any repairs at the plant and to stop its operation forever. A general strike was held in the area in conjunction with a people's referendum in which over 90% of the residents voted against the plant. Thousands of people demonstrated in front of the plant several times, often with women, who had been especially active in the struggle, in the front lines holding the banners and leading the crowd. These actions forced nuclear safety officials to ask for safety improvements in the nuclear reactor before allowing new operation and, later, to decide to close down of the plant because of the enormous and complicated expenses involved in the issue. Without such opposition it is doubtful that any of the safety requirements would even have been asked of the plant owners.
In the second place was the expected difficulties in getting fuel supply and reprocessing supply services for the irradiated fuel due to the accelerated plan to close all French GCRs. Vandellos-1 was getting its fuel from France, and sending its irradiated fuel back to France, to COGEMA, for reprocessing. In a press release on 16 June 1988, WISE-Tarragona publicized the plans by EDF to close the French GCRs and explained the implications of this decision for Vandellos-1. In fact, the fire had acted as a catalyzer for something already announced.
The third reason is the direct role of EDF in this issue. EDF has put pressure on the Spanish government to not allow Vandellos-1 to operate anymore. This is due to EDF interest in selling nuclear electricity all over Europe. The reason for this is EDF'S enormous debt, because of its nuclear investments, and its huge surplus in nuclear generating capacity. The French market cannot absorb all of the electricity EDF produces. This places Spain's anti-nuclear activists in the odd position, at least on this issue, of being in alliance with the French nuclear industry!
Source: WISE-Tarragona
Contact: Comite Antinuclear l'Ametlla de Mar, Tarragona, Spain, tel: +34-77-456739, fax: +34-77- 493442
WISE-Tarragona, apartat de Correus 741, E-43080 Tarragona, Spain.