Greenpeace Luxembourg launches a new warning about the danger of prolonging the activity of the Cattenom Nuclear Power Plant. In 2026, reactor 1 at the French nuclear power plant turns 40 and ends its lifespan. Instead of closing it, as recommended, Electricity of France (EDF) intends to restore it, modernize it and keep it in operation.
But the interventions carried out at the center will not be “sufficient to remedy these major security flaws”, as revealed by a new study highlighted by the organization.
“Cattenom must close definitively”, appeals to Greenpeace Luxembourg, which already has a public petition underway against extending the life of the nuclear plant.
Threat to “millions of people”
“The Cattenom nuclear power plant, aged and exposed to serious safety deficiencies, constitutes a threat to millions of people in Luxembourg and France, but also on a European scale”, says Roger Spautz, responsible for the nuclear campaign at Greenpeace Luxembourg, in a statement released this Tuesday.
The warning is based on new studies carried out on the dispersion of radioactivity in the event of a “serious accident” occurring in Cattenom, located 23 kilometers from Luxembourg.
In the event of an accident “like Fukushima” in Japan in 2011, “all of Luxembourg will be contaminated” by the radioactive cloud, under certain meteorological conditions, as well as some regions of France, Belgium and Germany.
Radioactivity could reach cities such as “Metz, Berlin, Brussels or Frankfurt”, indicate the projections of more than a thousand maps prepared by the Institut Biosphère, in partnership with Greenpeace Luxembourg.
Contaminated soil
Data from radioactive cloud maps show the scale of the calamity: “more than 26 million people would receive, in a few hours, a dose of radioactivity higher than the public exposure limit, set at 1 mSV per year”.
Of these, “276 thousand people would potentially be affected by an urgent relocation and 960 thousand people living around Cattenom would be affected by a long-term relocation as a result of soil contamination”, writes the organization in the statement.
Luxembourg must demand clear opposition
Faced with this threat, Greenpeace Luxembourg emphasizes that Frieden’s executive must act.
“The Luxembourg Government must demand a clear opposition to the use of nuclear energy and an active commitment against extending the life of Cattenom”, says Roger Spautz.
“We continue to call on the Nuclear Safety Authority to demonstrate its responsibility by setting a closure date for Cattenom now. It’s the only way to protect people and the environment”, he adds.
