The Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste (BASE), an official body that advises the German Ministry of the Environment, has rejected the proposal of the European Commission (EC) to classify atomic energy as sustainable energy and assures that it is a high-risk technology.
“From a technical point of view, the classification of nuclear energy as sustainable energy cannot be defended,” said BASE president Wolfram König in a position statement published by the entity on Wednesday.
“Atomic energy is a high-risk technology, it generates waste and implies the danger that the radioactive material will be used for terrorist or military purposes,” he added.
König also warns that the use of atomic energy generates a burden on future generations that is not compatible with the ideal of generational justice.
The EC proposal, according to BASE, is based on a report from the EU Joint Research Center (JRC) from March 2021.
BASE experts had analyzed that report in a June 2021 report and concluded that the repercussions of the use of atomic energy, that it is methodologically problematic and that it incurs simplifications.
Those problems also affect the EC proposal of December 31, 2021.
In a statement, BASE recalls that the current safety standards for nuclear power plants must prevent serious accidents and reduce their consequences, but they cannot completely rule them out.
An accident can generate serious consequences for the environment, beyond national borders, which can lead to great risks for life and health in the EU as well and can also have strong economic and psychosocial repercussions.
On the other hand, the statement indicates that a prolongation of the use of existing nuclear power plants, designed for a life of between 30 and 40 years, would require renovations that are only partially possible.
In addition, the deterioration of the materials leaves open the question of whether the plants could be adapted to current safety standards.
Another critical point is that in many EU states the liability of operators in nuclear accidents is limited to amounts that would not cover the damage.
BASE considers it inexplicable from a technical point of view that “so-called advanced technologies” are included among renewable technologies.
In relation to these advanced technologies, the organization recalls that “a series of reactors that are currently being talked about are based on principles that have been known for years but that could never prosper for safety or commercial reasons.”
Others are in the process of being studied and from the point of view of their technical safety they could not yet be used because they cannot be fully assessed.
Finally, there is also the issue of atomic waste, which would continue to be produced with the types of reactors that are proposed.
“The radioactive waste problem remains unsolved 70 years after the introduction of that technology,” says BASE.
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