All Balkanalysis.com Archive Content- Only at CEEOL.com
|
09/21/2006: EU Releases Funds to Dismantle Bulgarian Nuclear Reactor09/21/2006: EU Releases Funds to Dismantle Bulgarian Nuclear Reactor (Balkanalysis.com Security & Intelligence Brief 13) Bulgaria is set to receive 50 million euros in funds from the European Commission in order to shut down two units of the Kozloduy nuclear power plant, reported the Sofia News Agency today. Bulgaria’s EU accession was made contingent on the shutdown of four aging, Soviet-era reactors, the news agency states. Two more modern ones will remain operational. While the shutdown owes primarily to environmental concerns, fears of “dirty bombs” made from loose radioactive materials passed on to terrorists are also behind it. Such materials can still be found in former Soviet states such as Builgaria. A similar concern was noted in neighboring Serbia recently, where the Vinca facility, only 10 km from the capital Belgrade, was said to present a high security risk, According to B92 on Sept. 18, Nuclear inspectors have branded the lightly guarded storage facility at a communist-era reactor, which closed 22 years ago, the world’s most dangerous disused nuclear site — because of the potency of the material and the risk of leakage.” A nuclear expert cited by B92 claimed that about 30 percent of the site’s 2.5 tons of uranium is leaking. On Sept. 19, UPI reported that the Serbian government has signed an agreement, under IAEA auspices, to transport Vinca’s nuclear materials from Belgrade to Russia. The operation is expected to last until mid-2008. |
