The Fessenheim nuclear power plant needs to be retrofitted and thus better protected from external damage. In the nuclear power plant on the Upper Rhine, this applies to the decay basins for the fuel rods, which are supposed to be protected against earthquakes in particular. This means that the operator of the EDF nuclear power plant must ensure that no water can escape from the basin.

The second pressurized water reactor of the Alsatian nuclear power plant was shut down this year, so the entire system is off the grid. The fuel rods that are still present may remain there until the end 2023, according to an order from the ASN supervisory authority.

Safety risk Critics have considered the power plant to be a safety risk for decades; Originally the scrap reactor dubbed by the Greens 2016 was supposed to be shut down, but nothing came of it. Opponents of nuclear power, especially in Germany and Switzerland, had long unsuccessfully advocated shutting down the two reactors. Five years are estimated for the preparations for the dismantling, the dismantling itself then takes another 15 years.

An earthquake danger does not seem to be out of the Upper Rhine Air taken. Just last month, the University of Strasbourg registered an earthquake with a magnitude of 2.7.

(anw)