Portugal joins calls to shut down Almaraz nuclear power plant

Portuguese environment protection agency Quercus has united with Spanish organisations in their calls to demand that the Almaraz nuclear power plant, which sits close to the central Portuguese border with Spain, be closed down as it represents “a potential danger to the border area”.

Quercus stressed that the Spanish plant is located close to the Tagus river, around 100 kilometres from the border, and has had its activity prolonged for another ten years even though “not all of the risk factors have been considered nor tests carried out”, the agency said.

It added that “there is a worrying risk with Spanish power platns in as much as not all risk factors have been considered nor tests carried out” and “nor do they contemplate the risk of external attacks, such as bombings or plane crashes.”

Other risks like natural disasters, from earthquakes to flooding, are also not contemplated in the plants’ risk assessments, the Portuguese association warns, nor are external rescue management systems.

