Bulgaria's Cardiovascular Crisis: Deputy PM Urges Action
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Economy and Energy Minister, Traicho Traikov, reiterated Tuesday earlier statements Bulgaria can decide to build a new unit at the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant, NPP, on the Danube River, instead of Belene.
Traikov spoke for Bulgarian media in Brussels where he is to attend the emergency meeting of the EU Energy Ministers to debate European safety standards and plans for the EU NPPs. The meeting comes in the aftermath of incidents with nuclear reactors in Japan after the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck the country on March 11.
Traikov told journalists the reshuffle between Kozloduy and Belene could be deemed a spare, stand-by option.
The Minister further declared this would be a reasonable compromise between outstanding issues regarding the complex seismology of the Belene area and the commitments Bulgaria has already made.
"We have made the commitment to pay the Russian Rosatom for a reactor. They insist it is almost ready for delivery, but why not place it in Kozloduy? The ground breaking there could happen in only 15 months, I repeat, however, this is a spare possible outcome; the Bulgarian cabinet is yet to discuss it with its partners," Traikov is quoted saying by the Brussels correspondent of the Bulgarian National Radio, BNR.
Regarding the emergency meeting, the Minister explained he was expecting the discussion to revolve mostly around EU NPPs using boiling water such as the troubled Fukushima in Japan, while Kozloduy uses water under pressure, adding Kozloduy is a plant Bulgaria relies on a lot and a plant that has been subject to tests and checks more than most in Europe.
"The beginning debate about nuclear safety might impose the need of additional investments in new facilities, such as Belene, but this is for the good of all," Traikov concluded.
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