ISTANBUL, Apr. 25, 2011 (Xinhua News Agency) — Turkey said on Monday that it will go ahead with its plans to build the first nuclear power plant in the Mediterranean town of Akkuyu despite wide domestic opposition after recent nuclear disaster in Japan.
Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said that environmentalists will agree with a view that opposes nuclear plants using Chernobyl-like technology but supports new-technology reactors.
“Greenpeace members had a placard there, reading, ‘No to Chernobyl.’ I agree with that placard. Still, the correct one sign should have been, ‘No to Chernobyl, yes to Akkuyu.’,” Yildiz said.
“These first-generation plants should be closed down. But the third-generation plant like the one we will build in Akkuyu should continue. I believe that Greenpeace members would think so, too,” he said.
“Security measures at nuclear plants should surely become stricter but nuclear energy production should also continue. This is Turkey’s vision,” he added.
The Russian firm responsible for construction and operation of Turkey’s first nuclear plant discussed its safety features in Istanbul on Monday amidst growing concerns from Turks.
Rosatom Project Management Programs Director Sergei Boyarkin assured Turks that “our nuclear plant will be at least 20 times safer than Fukushima.”
The third-generation nuclear power plant to be built in Akkuyu, 900 km southeast of Istanbul, has always been a topic of controversy but protests have gained significant strength after last month’s disaster at the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan.
Meanwhile, the government refused to back down from plans to construct the plant.
Russian officials have re-assured those concerned in the past, saying the 20 billion dollar plant with an electricity capacity of 4.8 GW will be able to withstand a magnitude nine earthquake and a plane crash, and will be the safest nuclear plant in the world.
Boyarkin said that besides active safety measures the nuclear plant will also have a passive safety system which kicks in the event of disaster to prevent leakage of radioactive material without need for human involvement.
Since Fukushima did not have such a system, radioactive material had leaked out, and the situation would have been different had steps been taken in the first 24 hours, he added.
He said that additional precautions that will be made in accordance with the meteorological and seismic realities after a comprehensive analysis of the location.
Akkuyu NGS Director Alexander Superfin said that they understood the concerns of the protesters, and that this was caused by a lack of information.
Superfin added that they would soon launch an education center to inform those concerned about the safety measures at the plant.
There will be four units total. The first one is expected to begin operation in 2018, the last one in 2021. Construction on the plant is expected to begin in 2013 and be finished by 2021.
(Source: )
(Source: Quotemedia)