Earthquake Stress Tests Show Bulgaria N-plants Safe
Stress tests conducted on the sites of the Kozloduy nuclear power plant and the planned Belene power plant established that both could withstand the strongest possible earthquakes in the region, the country's Nuclear Regulatory Agency said.
The stress tests, using the methodology adopted by the European Commission, found that both sites could deal with breakdowns and emergency situations and their designs could withstand the strongest possible earthquakes in their areas, online news portal Sofia Echo reported.
Bulgaria's Nuclear Regulatory Agency found that there was no seismic risk to the Belene site.
In May 2011, in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster in Japan, the European Union and the bloc's nuclear safety regulators agreed on safety checks on Europe's 143 nuclear reactors.
The tests were to assess whether nuclear power stations in the EU could safely withstand incidents from accidents and natural disasters to terrorists attacks. A final report encompassing all nuclear power stations in the bloc is expected in April 2012.