nuclear-news

Belgium getting more anxious about safety of its nuclear reactors?

EVERY BELGIAN GETS ANTI-RADIATION PILLS IN CASE OF NUCLEAR EMERGENCIES, Who.What.Why. MAY 15, 2016 | BEN HUANG Just a week after denying Germany’s request to shut down two of its oldest nuclear reactors, the Belgian government decided to distribute anti-radiation pills to its entire population. Do the authorities know something about the safety of its aging nuclear plants that it isn’t sharing ?

The two reactors in question are 40 years old, and their pressure vessels have shown signs of metal degradation, raising concerns over their safety. Belgium still gets 50 percent of its electricity from nuclear power. Germany, in contrast, has decided to shut down all of its nuclear reactors and to focus on renewable energy.

The decision to distribute the pills, which are also known as iodine pills and protect the thyroid from radioactive poisoning in case of a disaster, shows how worried Belgian officials are — and for good reason. Nuclear safety is an illusion, as two high-profile cases have shown. The Chernobyl reactor explosion 30 years ago and the ensuing radioactive fallout killed thousands and left land the size of Rhode Island unusable…….http://whowhatwhy.org/2016/05/15/every-belgian-gets-anti-radiation-pills-case-nuclear-emergencies/

May 16, 2016 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general