Status: 09/20/2022 5:37 p.m
Who knew when about the broken valve in the Isar 2 nuclear power plant? There is a dispute between Federal Environment Minister Lemke and Bavaria about this. Their free voters are putting pressure on the federal government to make fundamental decisions about the continued operation of the nuclear power plant.
According to the Bavarian State Chancellery, it has only been known since Monday – from the media – about a defective valve in the Isar 2 power plant. You learned about it from the reports, said a spokesman at the request of the dpa news agency. Prime Minister Markus Söder initially did not want to comment.
On Monday it became known that a pressure valve in the cooling circuit was so worn that it had to be replaced if it could continue to operate beyond the turn of the year. According to the operator, the E.ON subsidiary Preussen-Elektra, the repair would have to be carried out in October, otherwise the pile could not be started up again due to a lack of energy. So far, it has always been said that Isar 2 can run at full capacity until the end of the year.
Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke had previously complained that she had not received any earlier information from Bavaria. Your ministry announced on Monday that the operator had informed you about the leak.
In the case of the information that she believes has arrived with a delay, she is particularly targeting the Union and the Bavarian Minister of State for the Environment and Consumer Protection, Thorsten Faithr from the Free Voters, said Lemke. Söder and the CDU leader Friedrich Merz finally both looked at the reactor and spoke to the operator. The question also arises as to why Minister Glauber, who is also head of the Bavarian nuclear supervisory authority, did not draw attention to the problem. “That’s just dubious,” said Lemke.
“Security issues systematically ignored”
The leak that has occurred makes it clear “that questions of security requirements are being systematically ignored in the political debate about extending the term of the CDU and CSU,” criticized Lemke. “For me, the new twist is also a confirmation that an extension of the term by three to four years is not responsible and is not simply possible,” she continued.
The Bavarian state government sees things differently, at least with a view to short-term continued operation. Faithr said: “It finally needs a decision from the federal government and no more tactics.” It turns out that the idea of a cold reserve for the Isar 2 power plants in Bavaria and Neckar-Westheim in Baden-Württemberg from January to April is not a good solution. “A nuclear power plant is not an emergency power generator. Now the hurdles inherent in this idea are becoming apparent.”
Hubert Aiwanger, Friedrich Merz, Markus Söder and Thorsten Faithr on August 4 during a visit to the Isar 2 nuclear power plant.
Image: dpa
Aiwanger: “Finally hop or top”
Bavaria’s Economics Minister Hubert Aiwanger said that Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck had to “finally say hop or great” about the extension of the term. The operator, politics and the economy should know how things will continue immediately and from January.
“In the event of an – urgently needed – service life extension, maintenance must be carried out in the next few weeks, such as replacing the valve or reassembling the fuel rods, in order to then be able to produce for several months without interruption in the new year,” emphasized Aiwanger.
However, this maintenance does not have to be carried out when New Year’s Eve is over. “Anyone who is seriously concerned with the technical issues must now finally answer this call for help from the operator after a decision has been made.”
Critics of nuclear power called for the immediate shutdown of Isar 2. The anti-nuclear organization broadcast emphasized: “The valve damage in the Isar 2 nuclear power plant that has now become known is not the first this year: there was a valve leak in the Isar back in January -2, E.ON took the reactor offline at the time.”