Portugal’s Minister for the Environment João Matos Fernandes has assured the public that the Almaraz nuclear power station, situated 100kms over the Portuguese-Spanish border, is totally safe.
The minister said on Friday that the Almaraz nuclear power station will be one of the first issues to be addressed with the future government of Spain, but in the meantime assured the Portuguese public that the station's equipment is operating in "total safety."
Inspectors from the Spanish Nuclear Safety Council had warned of service gaps involving the nuclear power station's cooling systems and reported that there were insufficient guarantees that some essential water pumps were operating normally.
The minister says the Portuguese government is following events but is not concerned.
"I have not the slightest doubt that, once there is a new government in Spain and a new Minister of the Environment in Spain, that this is one of the first questions that I'll want to discuss with him," said Fernandes, rather unconvincingly.
The minister said he has been advised of the problems but believed the safety guarantees from the Spanish authorities. He has seen the inspection report which pointed out some “unimportant minor damage, common faults in an industrial unit,” but assured all was well and that the power station was operating in total safety and that he had full confidence in the Spanish authorities.
"The plant has two units, one of them was stopped for maintenance and the other is working as normal. The little problems that may have occurred were internal and had not caused an accident, nor is there any risk of accident," insisted the minister, trusting the Spanish report.
The environmental group Quercus is less trusting and has called for the closure of the nuclear power station, warning that Portugal is not prepared to cope with the aftemath of a serious nuclear accident.
Asked about the Quercus demand for the closure of the power station, the minister declined to comment and reiterated that there is no risk.
"This decision is one for the Spanish authorities and we have nothing to say about it because we have every confidence in the Spanish authorities. I repeat, this is an independent regulator telling us that the plant has no security problem" assured Fernandes.
