Only 70 kilometers separate Aachen from the Tihange nuclear plant in Belgium. Many residents have long had concerns about the safety of the facility. Now, the city is offering iodine tablets in case of an accident.
People in Aachen often feel uneasy about their proximity to the Belgian border, and the controversial Tihange nuclear power plant located some 70 kilometers (43 miles) away. Parts of the plant are more than 40 years old. The oldest block was meant to be taken offline two years ago. Repeated reports about newly discovered cracks in the reactors send collective shivers through Aachen's population. Now, local authorities are taking a preventative measure. Starting on Friday, residents can order free iodine tablets online, in the event of a major accident in Tihange.
Usually, iodine tablets are stored in a central location, and only distributed in an emergency. But Markus Kremer, the Aachen city official in charge of environmental issues, said the city came to the conclusion that the tablets couldn't be distributed quickly enough in the case of an accident at Tihange. "That's how we had the idea of supplying a large part of the population with iodine tablets in advance," he said.
The tablets could help prevent thyroid cancer in case of radioactive contamination, and are aimed primarily at children, breastfeeding mothers and people under the age of 45. For all other people, the risk of side effects outweighs the likelihood of one day contracting thyroid cancer.
Aachen city official Kremer believes it's important to supply residents iodine tabets in advance of a disaster
'Don't want to downplay the risks'
Kremer says the city is aware that such a preventative measure could have the unwanted effect of further unsettling Aachen residents. "In everything we've done so far, we've tried to find a sensible way of communicating the necessary information. On the one hand, there is absolutely no point in people panicking, but we also don't want to downplay the risks." Authorities estimate that more than a third of residents will take advantage of the free tablets.
Belgium's nuclear plants have also mobilized Aachen residents in other ways. Many windows and car bumpers sport stickers and flyers calling for Tihange to be closed down. This summer, activists formed a human chain stretching 90 kilometers along the road from Tihange to Aachen in protest of the power plant.
Local pharmacist Gabriele Neumann said there was already demand for iodine tablets before the city launched its distribution program. "There was particularly large demand around 18 months ago when Tihange was shut down and then restarted a few times," she said, adding her pharmacy alone sold more than 300 packages of iodine tablets at the time.
Many Aachen residents have displayed signs calling for the Tihange plant's closure
Tablets 'only a first step'
But iodine tablets alone are not nearly enough if citizens seriously want to prepare themselves for a large-scale nuclear accident, said Hans-Josef Allelein, an expert on reactor safety and reactor technology at Aachen's technical university. "We need to be clear: that's just a first step. I personally don't think this fear is founded, but if you have this fear, you should also stockpile two liters of water per person, basic food supplies, vitamin tablets, rubber boots and materials you can use to seal your doors and windows," said Allelein. But he's critical of the debate about iodine tablets specifically, and Tihange in general, saying the tone has been too hysterical. And he takes particular issue with a study commissioned on the Aachen region, outlining possible scenarios in the event of a major accident at the plant.
The study, conducted by the Institute for Security and Risk Assessment at the University of Vienna, concluded that in the event of an accident at Tihange, the Aachen region would very likely be affected by radioactive radiation. Furthermore, the study said that, depending on weather patterns, the levels of radioactivity could reach those seen during the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, leading to widespread evacuations.
Allelein says iodine tablets are 'just a first step' when preparing for a nuclear disaster
Government: No basis for conclusions
At the end of last year, Green party lawmaker Sylvia Kotting-Uhl submitted a parliamentary question to the federal government in which she referred to the results of the study from Vienna. The government responded at the start of this year, saying that the study did not adequately describe the disaster and emergency measures, and that it could therefore not be used as the basis for any firm conclusions.
Even though physicist Allelein personally feels that fears about a nuclear disaster at Tihange are unfounded, he does agree with one aspect of the criticism directed at the Belgian operators of the power plant: "I have the feeling that the Belgian operators and also Belgium's Federal Agency for Nuclear Control only ever release information once it's somehow been released elsewhere."
The worst nuclear disaster of all time, the explosion at Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine released massive amounts of radiation into the atmosphere. Areas close to the plant - in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia - were heavily contaminated. Heightened levels of radiation were also measured across most of Europe. The "exclusion zone" around Chernobyl remains off-limits to human habitation today.
After a magnitude-9 earthquake and consequent tsunami, three nuclear reactors at Fukushima power plant in Japan went into meltdown in March 2011. There were also four hydrogen explosions. The accident released 500 times as much radioactive cesium-137 as the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. The clean-up is expected to take decades.
After Chernobyl, thousands of people developed cancer. In Japan too, the heavily contaminated region of Fukushima, where 200,000 people lost their homes, saw cases of the disease escalate. The number of children with thyroid cancer there is 20 times higher than other regions.
Chernobyl fueled public opposition to nuclear power, particularly in Europe. The same happened after Fukushima. Before the Japanese disaster, the country relied on nuclear for 30 percent of its power. That has fallen to 1 percent. The government wants to continue producing nuclear power and plans to reinstall some reactors. But affected regions have successfully pushed back those plans.
Today, the nuclear power sector is deep in economic crisis. In Japan, the United States and France, nuclear power plants run at a loss, and construction projects for new reactors have been postponed.
France had high hopes for its newest nuclear reactors - called pressurized water reactors (PWRs). This technology was supposed to be safe, and the Flamanville power plant was due to be switched on in 2012. Due to security issues, that's been pushed back to 2018 at the earliest. The project will cost more than 10 billion euros - three times the original budget.
For years, the UK has been planning to build two new PWR reactors at Hinkley Point. Costs are estimated at 33 billion euros and groundbreaking is slated for 2019. But doubts are growing over its economic viability. The electricity it produces will be much pricier than solar or wind power, and will need subsidies to compete in the market.
Nuclear power plants used to be lucrative. But now, many are old and frail. Repair costs often mean they cannot turn a profit. Swiss energy corporation Alpiq recently tried to give away two of its old plants, 33 and 38 years old, to French energy company EDF - which declined the offer.
Three decades ago, the Chernobyl disaster galvanized Germany's anti-nuclear movement, which is often cited as the roots of the country's energy transition. In 2002, Germany passed a law that would have seen the last reactor shut down in 2022. The plan was later scrapped by Angela Merkel's government. But after Fukushima, Merkel quickly reversed her decision and the phase-out was back on track.
So far, nine of Germany's reactors have gone offline, with eight more to follow by 2022. To finance the costs of nuclear waste disposal, plant operators must pay 23.6 billion euros into a federal fund. The operators themselves are responsible for the similarly costly process of dismantling the plants, which will take decades to complete.
Across the EU and Switzerland 132 nuclear reactors are still online. They were designed to operate for 30 to 35 years - their average age is now 32 years. Malfunctions and security issues are frequently detected and protestors are increasingly calling for plants to be shut down.
No new nuclear power plants have been built in the EU, Japan or Russia since the Fukushima disaster in 2011. China remains committed to nuclear, partly to replace coal-based power. But the country is also upping investment in wind and solar.
Source: German city of Aachen offers iodine tablets amid nuclear fears
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