Europe's new nuclear reactors will not be 9/11-proof
New nuclear reactors planned to be built across Europe, and probably going to be built in the UK after Prime Minister Blair told us that nuclear power remains on the cards, are not designed to withstand a 9/11-style aircraft attack by terrorists, a leaked report has revealed.
The European pressurised water reactor (EPR) is capable of resisting an accidental crash by a five-tonne military fighter, says the French nuclear power company, EDF. But only by extrapolation does it argue that the reactor will also withstand the impact of a 250-tonne commercial airliner flown deliberately into it.
This assumption, according to independent nuclear engineer, John Large, is "entirely unjustified". This "reflects what seems to be an almost total lack of preparation to defend against the inevitability of terrorist attack," he says.
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