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FIRST TURKISH REACTOR PLANNED ON EARTHQUAKE FAULT
Posted to the web: July 03, 1998
The warning was issued Thursday at a news conference in Istanbul held
by Greenpeace and Professor Dr. Atilla Ulug, head of the Geophysics
Department of the Institute of Marine Sciences and Technology at the
Dokuz Eylul University.
The warning came five days after a devastating earthquake hit the southeastern Turkish provinces above the active Anatolian fault June 27 in which 130 people were killed. The epicentre of the quake was about 170 kilometres (102 miles) northeast of Akkuyu Bay.
The seismic finding is contained in a 1991 report by a team of Turkish
marine geophysicists and a British geologist. They concluded that the
Ecemis fault runs 20 to 25 kilometers (12 to 15 miles southeast of
Akkuyu Bay and is active.
The data contradicts claims by the Turkish electricity utility (TEAS)
and the Turkish Atomic Energy Authority (TAEK), that the Ecemis fault
is inactive. TEAS' conclusion is based on a 1989 study done by
engineers, not geophysicists or seismologists.
Despite the evidence that the fault is active detailed in "Neotectonic
Structural Features in the Alanya - Mersin Shelf Area (Southern
Turkey)", by S.L. Gokcen, G. Kelling, A. Ulug, N. Gokcen, and E. Ozel,
in 1991, the Turkish utility has not considered conducting further
investigations.
"At the very least, the Turkish Government must conduct further
investigations of the Akkuyu Bay area to determine the threat posed by
the Ecemis fault," demanded Dr. Ulug. "To go ahead and build a reactor
at Akkuyu Bay without further study would be a totally irresponsible,
if not a criminal, decision."
TEAS is planning to announce this month who has won the contract to
build Turkey's first nuclear reactor, and allow the construction to
start next year.
map
Map of the southern Turkish coast. The small circle shows the proposed
location of Turkey's first nuclear plant.
Akkuyu village was first chosen as a nuclear plant site in 1976. The
government tried to begin construction in 1992, but had to postpone
the work due to action by 52 green groups.
In February, Spanish EA firm was awarded the consultancy contract to
evaluate the three bids to build the nuclear plant near Akkuyu. The
three consortia bidding for the plant, estimated to cost between $1.5
and $2.5 billion, are Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.,
Mitsubishi-Westinghouse and NPI, a Franco-German group.
Last month, experts at the Ecemis Fault Line Workshop I held at Nigde
University concluded that the northern parts of the Fault was active,
classifying this region as an area most seriously prone to
earthquakes, and recommending that building codes for the region be
changed by the General Directorate of Disaster Affairs to prevent
future disasters. The group of experts also warned that the southern
parts of the fault - on land and in the Mediterranean - need extensive
seismological, geophysical and geological research.
Potential dangers posed by earthquakes to nuclear installations were
recently highlighted by a Court decision in Germany, where the
Muelheim-Kaerlich reactor was closed because the risk had not been
properly investigated and had been possibly underestimated. The
license for the Mulheim Kaerlich nuclear power plant was revoked on
January 13 after a ten-year legal battle.
Yet, Greenpeace complains, the German government is now providing
financial backing for the German firm Siemens in its bid to build the
nuclear reactor at Akkuyu Bay.
Greenpeace has been campaigning against Turkey's nuclear programme for the last five years. Melda Keskin, Turkish campaigner in the Greenpeace Mediterranean Office, said, "Turkey does not need nuclear power but energy saving and development of clean energy technologies."
"How can it be unacceptable to build a nuclear reactor without the
necessary investigation in an earthquake-prone area in Germany, but
acceptable to do so in Turkey?" asked Keskin.
In May, Greenpeace released a computer modelling study showing that a
major accident at the proposed Turkish reactor site would be
catastrophic not only for Turkey, but also for Cyprus and the entire
Middle East.
The island nation of Cyprus would be severely affected in the event of
an accident at the proposed Turkish nuclear reactor at Akkuyu Bay,
only 250 kilometres (150 miles) from Nicosia.
The discovery of small seal colonies off Turkey s southern coast early
this year may also complicate plans to build the nuclear plant. Under
Turkish law construction is banned in areas which are declared natural
or historical preservation sites. Platform Against Nuclear Energy
representing 60 civil groups has applied to have the area surrounding
Akkuyu declared a natural conservation site because it is a seal
habitat.
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