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From: enviro@salata.com (Recycled News)
Date: 1998/05/29
Message-ID: < c5a_9805282235@salata.com>
If you are from the United States of America, Germany, France, Canada, Japan, Republic of Korea, or the United Kingdom... your country could be contributing to the development of Turkey's first nuclear power plant.
If you are from a country near to Turkey, you could be a front-line victim
of a nuclear accident in Turkey. These countries include: Greece, Cyprus,
Bulgaria, Romania, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia,
Russia, and Ukraine.
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I am writing to ask for your support in stopping the construction of
Turkey's first nuclear power plant at Akkuyu. Some of you received this
appeal early in May. Since that time there have been some very dramatic
developments.
** On May 25, 1998, State Secretary to the Energy Minister, Yurdakul
Yigitguden, held a news conference in Ankara. He stated that the bidding
process is on schedule. Although he did not confirm the exact date when the
winning vendor would be announced, he did say that contracts would be signed
and construction would start in 1999. THIS CONFIRMS OUR EXPECTATION THAT THE
STATE UTILITY (TEAS) WILL LIKELY PICK A WINNING NUCLEAR VENDOR TO CONSTRUCT
THE AKKUYU PLANT AS EARLY AS JULY OR AUGUST 1998, AND CERTAINLY NOT LATER
THAT OCTOBER 15, 1998 (one year after the bid deadline).
** The explosion of five nuclear bombs by India on May 11 and 13 has
emphasized the connection between the so-called "civilian" nuclear power
programs, and the manufacture of nuclear weapons. India's nuclear program is
based on Canadian CANDU technology. On May 17, 1998, retired Turkish General
Erdogan Oznal, who was the Lieutenant-General in charge at the Balikesir
Nato Air Base, made a thinly disguised statement that Turkey should develop
nuclear weapons (see below for more information).
** The human rights situation in Turkey continues to be very serious. On May
12, 1998, Akin Birdal, head of the Turkish Human Rights Association was shot
and critically wounded - - surviving only by a miracle.
If you have not done so already, please take the time to write a letter
opposing the Akkuyu nuclear power plant (see below).
BACKGROUND
In December 1996, the Turkish state electrical utility TEAS (Turkish Electricity Generation and Transmission Company) invited bids from foreign reactor vendors for the construction of a 100% financed nuclear power station to be built at Akkuyu Bay on Turkey's Mediterranean coast.
There are three international consortia bidding:
1. Nuclear Power International (NPI) - - a partnership of Siemens (Germany)
and Framatome (France).
2. Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), with partners including
Kvaerner-John Brown (UK), Korea Electric Power Corporation and Hanjung
(South Korea), and Hitachi (Japan)
3. Westinghouse (USA) and Mitsubishi (Japan).
The vendors' main bids are as follows: NPI is bidding a 1980s vintage
Siemens 1400 MW Convoy PWR; Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) is
bidding to supply two 700 MW CANDU reactors (Pressurized Heavy Water
Reactors) in a two-unit station; and Westinghouse /Mitsubishi is bidding a
single 1200 MW PWR.
It is vitally important to mount an international campaign of opposition to
stop this most recent attempt to expand the international nuclear industry.
It is particularly important that groups and individuals in the vendor
countries (Canada, the United States, Germany, France, Japan, the United
Kingdom, and South Korea) take the actions suggested below.
For more detailed background on this issue, please consult a report that I
wrote last year, entitled "The CANDU Syndrome: Canada's Bid to Export
Nuclear Reactors to Turkey". It is posted on the web sites of the Campaign
for Nuclear Phaseout (www.cnp.ca) and the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear
Responsibility (www.ccnr.org). Although is has a focus on the CANDU reactor
and the AECL bid, there is also a lot of information on general issues
relating to Turkey (see below).
PLEASE TAKE THE FOLLOWING FOUR ACTIONS TO STOP THE AKKUYU NUCLEAR PLANT !
1. Please forward this message to all groups and individuals that you think
might be interested in this issue.
2. If you are from a vendor country (United States of America, Germany,
France, Canada, Japan, Republic of Korea, or the United Kingdom), or a
"front-line" state that neighbours on Turkey (Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria,
Romania, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Russia,
and Ukraine), write to your respective head of state, and national energy
minister to oppose the export of nuclear reactors to Turkey. They can both
receive the same letter with different addresses (see below for a short
summary of good reasons for opposition).
3. Everyone (even if you are not from a vendor country or front-line state)
should write to the Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz and Energy Minister
Cumhur Ersumer of Turkey opposing this deal. Again they can both receive the
same letter with different addresses (please send by fax and put the
original in the mail).
4. Please copy your letters to Nuclear Awareness Project, as a clearinghouse
(regular mail is good, but E-mail is OK too).
Addresses and fax numbers are:
Sayin Mesut Yilmaz
Basbakan
Ankara, Turkey
FAX +90 312 417 0476
Sayin Cumhur Ersumer
Enerji ve Tabii Kaynaklar Bakani
Enerji ve Tabii Kaynaklar Bakanligi
Devlet Konya Yolu Uzeri
Bestepe, Ankara, Turkey
FAX +90 312 212 2973
REASONS TO OPPOSE THE AKKUYU NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
(A) POINTS FOR LETTER TO HEAD OF STATE & ENERGY MINISTERS IN VENDOR
COUNTRIES & NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES
1. Economic Risks for the vendor country
Turkey is demanding 100% financing of the Akkuyu plant, even including the
local costs, which will be to its direct economic benefit. It is not clear
if Turkey will provide a `hard' sovereign guarantee of the debt. In
addition, there are crucial questions about: the absence of risk insurance
on the loans; whether the vendor will be required to provide a performance
guarantee; who will make up the shortfall in case of cost overruns; and the
degree to which vendors will have to transfer their manufacturing and
marketing rights. There have also been suggestions that Turkey is demanding
"counter-trade" agreements - - a carpets for nukes deal!
2. The Risk to Neighbouring Countries
In the event of a catastrophic accident like Chernobyl, radioactive
contamination would travel beyond Turkey's borders. One meteorological study
indicates that Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Romania would be at particular
risk. However, impacts depend primarily on the weather conditions at the
time of the accident. So other surrounding countries such as Lebanon Syria,
Iraq, Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Russia, and Ukraine would also be
at risk.
3. Seismic Risk
The risk of earthquake damage is a serious consideration for the Akkuyu
nuclear site. One analyst has stated, "There is a probability of 50% that an
earthquake of magnitude 7 Richter or more will occur within 100 kms of
Akkuyu Bay within the next 40 years."
4. Nuclear Weapons Proliferation
The dark underside of nuclear power has always been its potential for
nuclear weapons proliferation, either through the production of plutonium -
- an inevitable byproduct of reactor operation - - or through the transfer
of sensitive nuclear information, technology and materials. On May 18, the
Turkish TV news channel NTV re-broadcast a program called "Pasaport" which
was originally broadcast from Ankara, on May 17, interviewing the retired
Turkish General Erdogan Oznal, who was the Lieutenant-General in charge at
the Balikesir Nato Air Base. He was responsible for NATO fighter/bomber
aircraft in Turkey armed with nuclear warheads during the cold-war. General
Oznal repeatedly emphasized the nuclear threat from Israel, India, Pakistan
and Iran, and said: "TURKEY MUST NOW DEVELOP ITS OWN NUCLEAR POLICY". It is
clear that Oznal was referring to the development of a nuclear weapons
program. There is good reason to think that Turkey is indeed interested in
starting a nuclear weapons program. In the early 1980s, nuclear weapons
technology was shipped through Turkey to Pakistan. In 1990-91 international
pressure hasd to be exerted to prevent Turkey from buying the 25 MW CAREM
reactor from Argentina that could have been used to produce plutonium.
Reports of a nuclear connection between Turkey and Pakistan persisted into
the 1990s.
5. Security Threats
Terrorists do not need nuclear weapons if they can trigger a catastrophic
radiation release by sabotaging or bombing a nuclear power plant. Potential
security threats to a nuclear plant in Turkey would be both internal and
external. Turkey has been in a virtual state of civil war for more than a
decade. Turkey has also had a longstanding conflict over control of Cyprus
that remains unresolved. Cyprus is directly offshore from the Akkuyu Bay
site on the Mediterranean Sea coastline.
6. Human Rights in Turkey
Turkey has a long history of gross human rights abuses, and these abuses
have worsened in recent years. On May 12, 1998, Akin Birdal, head of the
Turkish Human Rights Association was shot and critically wounded - -
surviving only by a miracle. Abuses include systematic widespread torture;
murder of prisoners in custody; death squad murders; disappearances;
restrictions on freedom of speech; and incommunicado detention without legal
representation. A virtual state of war with Kurdish rebels has resulted in
an estimated 20,000 deaths since 1984 and the displacement of two million
people in the southeastern provinces, where a state of emergency is in
place.
7. Turkish Politics
Turkey does not provide a secure environment for a risky, multi-billion
dollar, long-term nuclear investment. There have been four military coups in
recent years in Turkey o in 1960, 1971, 1980, and 1997. On June 18, 1997,
the democratically elected Prime Minister, Necmettin Erbakan, was forced to
resign by the military and Mesut Yilmaz, leader of the conservative
Motherland Party, was named Prime Minister. The intense political
instability of Turkey in 1996-97 has also destabilized the country's
economy. Annual inflation in Turkey is over 80%. The annual deficit is about
$15 billion, and the country's debt is about $100 billion.
8. Akkuyu Puts the Monk Seal at Risk
The Mediterranean Monk Seal (Monachus monachus) is one of the ten most
endangered species in the world, with only about 200 seals left in
existence. There is a seal colony on islands in the mouth of Akkuyu Bay. The
water intake and sea traffic for the plant will pose a real danger to the
seals.
(B) POINTS FOR LETTER TO TURKISH PRIME MINISTER MESUT YILMAZ AND ENERGY
MINISTER CUMHUR ERSUMER
1. Safety and Environmental Impacts / Alternatives
All reactor designs share certain basic safety and environmental risks - -
namely the risk of catastrophic accidents; the problem of routine emission
of radioactive pollutants; as well as the production of radioactive waste
and the ultimate problem of reactor decommissioning.
Turkey has a relatively low per capita electricity consumption. This is an
opportunity rather than a problem. Turkey has an opportunity to avoid the
mistake of investing in nuclear power that has been made in many countries.
A truly sustainable energy future in Turkey will be based on efficiency and
renewable energy o not nuclear power.
2. Nuclear Power is a Failed Technology
Throughout the western world, nuclear power has been put on hold. It is
widely recognized that nuclear power is the highest cost option for
electricity generation, and carries significant environmental, safety, and
economic risks not shared by other forms of generation. Nuclear performance
is often poor, resulting in even higher costs. Nuclear power plants
typically have very long lead time for design, approval, and construction,
in addition to high capital cost. Disguised costs include radioactive waste
management and reactor decommissioning.
3. Nuclear Power will harm Turkey's Tourism Industry
The construction of a nuclear power plant on the Mediterranean Sea will do
irreparable damage to Turkey's valuable and growing tourism industry.
Construction of the Akkuyu nuclear plant will drive tourists away, and could
lead to a boycott of Turkey as a tourist destination.
4. Akkuyu Puts the Monk Seal at Risk [see above]
PLEASE DO NOT DELAY IN SENDING YOUR LETTERS
----------------------------------
Nuclear Awareness Project
P.O. Box 104
Uxbridge, Ontario, Canada L9P 1M6
Tel/Fax 905-852-0571
E-mail: nucaware@web.net
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