No. 81 March 03


The reactor bankruptcy - THTR 300 The THTR Circular
Studies on THTR and much more. The THTR breakdown list
The HTR research The THTR incident in the 'Spiegel'

The THTR Circulars from 2003

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THTR Circular No. 81 March 2003


Forschungszentrum Jülich under fire

This dubious research center is in public criticism not only because of the controversial development and support for the construction of the THTR variant Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) for South Africa, also under a red-green government. The 15 MW HTR of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Versuchsreaktor (AVR) Jülich was shut down in 1988 and is now causing headlines and scandals non-stop. The "Süddeutsche Zeitung" wrote on February 15, 2 in its national section:

“The inconspicuous building has meanwhile resulted in an unprecedented cost explosion for the federal government: Originally, the reactor tower, which externally resembles a large grain silo, was supposed to be sealed for 39 million euros. But the bill now adds up to more than 200 million euros without the radioactive scrap having been securely sealed. Now the bottomless pit is to be completely eliminated. The Bundestag budget committee unanimously approved an agreement on Thursday that provides for the demolition of what was once the heart of Jülich's nuclear research. Expected costs: Another 200 million euros, not including the expense for the former final storage. (...)
What is certain is that the biggest mistake was made when the plant was shut down. At that time, the Federal Ministry of Research approved a contract with the AVR that made the auditors' hair stand on end. The federal government assured the company that it would cover almost all of the costs without setting a schedule. After that, the permits dragged on. It took years before the documents were submitted to the responsible NRW energy ministry. "The papers came in slices," it says from the ministry. 'We had no experience with such decommissioning work',
the technical director of AVR, Siegbert Storch, defends himself. In addition, the ministry repeatedly asked for documents and an expert had to be replaced. The result: 'Nothing at all happened until 1994,' said Storch.
Nevertheless, the AVR paid 100 employees who waited for years for the permits. 'I don't know what they all did in the first few years' says Storch, who only joined the AVR later. (Perhaps they did research on the THTR for South Africa; quite a few reports on the relevant FZJ website were written down during this time. - THTR-RB) One could only deal with 'recurring tests on the reactor system' and 'repair work'. The ruins cost around 30 million marks a year. 'Millions of people have been dumped here in silence year after year without the federal government noticeably bothering,' says a nuclear expert who was once involved in the approval of the reactor seal. The research minister responsible at the time, Heinz Riesenhuber (CDU), also admits that this is 'apparently an unfortunate contract'. (...)
Even later, the AVR got lost in the jungle of nuclear law. When the permit was finally given in 1994 and the fuel elements of the reactor the size of a tennis ball were collected, it turned out that the FZJ had no permit at all to accept it. The federal government had to watch and pay for all of this. "We have no legal options against the comrades," says the Federal Ministry of Research. Participating experts suspect that the federal government's long inactivity was no coincidence. Dealing with the problem was not at all desirable as long as the future of nuclear power was still trusted.
This only changed when Red-Green came to power in 1998. Two years later it was decided to completely dismantle the reactor. The intention was followed by a protracted tussle as to who should pay for the project. The Federal Audit Office is now expecting further costs of 300 million euros, and NRW is even assuming 400 to 450 million euros. The only thing that is clear is that the bulk of the costs will continue to be borne by the federal government. Berlin and Düsseldorf quickly agreed on a cost split of 70 to 30, the former operator AVR, an amalgamation of 15 municipal utilities, contributed a total of 15 million euros. The energy companies would have benefited from the research and then hand over the expensive nuclear ruins to the federal government, according to the Ministry of Research. However, there is no action against the 15 municipal utilities, some of which are owned by energy giants such as RWE or EON.
The history of the research reactor will by no means end with the demolition plan now approved by the budgets. The experts from the federally owned Energiewerke Nord (EWN) have until 2012 for the dismantling. EWN boss Dieter Rittscher sees this as 'one of the most difficult tasks that we have ever had'. "The reactor is absolutely unique," says Rittscher. His employees can expect radioactive dust and contaminated machine parts to be extracted from the narrow and crooked nuclear reactor under high radiation exposure. The main problem, the reactor core, will remain in Jülich - like an ugly souvenir. A special crane is to lift the 1700-ton structure out of the building in order to wall it in nearby. After 40 to 50 years, according to Rittscher, you can see how you can finally cope with the radiant monster. "

State government responded to BI request

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It was not until February 20, 2 that we received the response from the NRW state government to Rüdiger Sagel's small inquiry about the Jülich research center and his nuclear commitment for South Africa (see THTR-RB 2003). While this document was already being passed around in various newspaper offices 80 days beforehand, the state government, as the triggering questioner, was the last to inform us and added a few lines: "Since a large number of companies in the USA, Japan or Europe are possible technologically cooperating partners , your request for a list of the current partners could only be fulfilled by ESKOM itself. The Ministry of Science and Research does not have any information of its own. The security analyzes in question correspond to the statutory mandate of the research center. They contradict neither the law on the orderly termination of the use of nuclear energy nor the consensus agreement with the energy supply companies. Safety research in particular should not be hindered by the 'nuclear phase-out' agreement. "

Statement of the BI to the answers of the state government:

One unreasonable imposition!

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  • Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ) supports and accelerates the construction of new nuclear power plants with the approval of two red-green governments.
    The basis for the decades of high-temperature reactor (HTR) development work is not based on a current paid order from South Africa, but is based on the fact that this research center was and is being built, maintained and funded for this purpose with public funds.
    Since the public control of the content-related orientation of the research work under the red-green governments in the federal and state governments was obviously extremely inadequate, the NRW state government now has to make a good face to the bad game in its answer to the small question of the MP Rüdiger Sagel and the unauthorized nuclear policy of the FZJ nod off afterwards.
    It is remarkable that two red-green governments put up with the fact that a research center controlled by them presumes to take a direction that is diametrically opposite to the official government policy.
  • "Security research" is a flexible term
    The state government of North Rhine-Westphalia agrees with the Jülich language that its HTR funding is only about reactor safety research that is legitimate.
    According to the information provided by the FZJ on the Internet, not only are the safety properties of high-temperature reactors examined, but also the “technical potential” as well as in the area of ​​“process and component technology” and the “automatic removal of residual heat”.
    The state government evidently adopts Jülich's argument that ultimately everything in the field of nuclear research must somehow serve safety and it is therefore sufficient to let all activities run under the umbrella term "safety research". The state government does not specify specific limits as to where security research begins and where it ends.
  • Uranium from high-temperature reactors can be used as a nuclear weapon.
    The state government claims that the low-enriched uranium used is not suitable for nuclear weapons. The fact is that the uranium in the fuel elements migrates through the reactor several times and is increasingly enriched. The operators BBC and HRB write in their brochure “Our high-temperature reactor THTR 300 has gone online” (undated) about the properties of the HTR: “The fuel particles can contain the fission substance uranium and the breeding substance thorium at the same time; this itself is not fissile, but is converted into high-quality, fissile uranium while the reactor is in operation
    thus contributes to the generation of power. (...) Flexibility in fuel supply through the use of uranium with high, medium or low enrichment. With the ball bed reactor, it is possible to change the fuel cycle during operation. "
    Furthermore, it is extremely questionable how the non-transfer of uranium, cited by the state government, should be brought into line with South Africa's declared goal of exporting HTR.
  • ESKOM: A dubious and controversial partner of Jülich.
    The South African energy supply company ESKOM, which, according to the state government, is involved in the development of the THTR variant Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR), has been criticized worldwide:
    “In the 4s, the regime’s key enterprise developed into a state within a state. It maintained its own armed militia, which used bloody violence against opponents of apartheid and was also involved in the civil war at the beginning of the 10s. At that time, ESKOM was producing three quarters of all electricity in South Africa. (...) Since the end of apartheid, ESKOM has connected over 25 million households to the power grid. During the same period, the company temporarily cut off electricity for 2002 million South Africans because they could not pay the unreasonably high tariffs. In contrast, the wholesale prices that ESKOM grants to the mining and steel industries are the lowest in the world - an additional incentive to build cogeneration plants with their high carbon dioxide emissions. The company invests XNUMX times as much money in nuclear energy as it does in renewable energies and, with the blessing of the World Bank and Nepad, is involved in mega-projects across Africa such as the construction of gigantic hydropower plants, namely in Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Mali, Mozambique, Swaziland, Tanzania and Zambia. "(From:" Le Monde diplomatique ", December XNUMX)
    A responsible handling of the highly dangerous nuclear power can hardly be expected from such a company. It is clear that the FZJ is not exactly picky when it comes to choosing its cooperation partners.
  • The FZJ tries to shirk responsibility for its own nuclear legacy.
    The demolition of the HTR Jülich, which was shut down 15 years ago, costs at least 200 million euros. The Arbeitsgemeinschaft Versuchsreaktor (AVR) Jülich has withdrawn in recent years from the position of not being responsible for the disposal of the atomic ruins. Such behavior should have aroused massive doubts in the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia and the federal government about the seriousness of this company and should have led to a more precise control of the nuclear research operations in Jülich.
  • We demand a committee of inquiry and the immediate stop of HTR research.
    Since neither the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia, the federal government, nor the Helmholtz Association of German research institutes have been able to actually monitor the FZJ in the past, we demand the establishment of a parliamentary committee of inquiry with the help of neutral experts to check whether in In the past, existing laws and regulations were violated. In this context, we request the publication of all contracts, agreements, documents and work results that are related to HTR research and development in Jülich. The HTR funding is to be stopped immediately! (abridged version)

WA publisher: Ippen bizarre

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Last year the Hessischer Rundfunk reported on its program “Main thing culture!”: “It has been the largest merger on the German newspaper market for years. The renowned Hessisch Niedersächsische Allgemeine (HNA) goes to the Ippen Group: to a media group that includes Münchner Merkur, tz and Offenbach Post. (...) It is still completely open whether the conservative publisher Ippen will also change the political direction of the social democratic HNA (circulation: 230.000, THTR-RB). He gave our reporter at least a foretaste of his information policy and mindset .... (...) Which line will Ippen control in Kassel? Our interview request was answered with a catalog of bizarre conditions: a film permit is only valid for his office, not for the publisher. An anthology of poems published by Ippen - “Des Sommers last Rosen” - should be mentioned in the article, the questions should be roughly listed beforehand. Unusual demands, 'the main thing culture' accepted it anyway. Ippen said first to ... and then from again. "

Continuation of the article from THTR-Rundbrief Nr: 78

The first issue of
"The Green Hammer"

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The green hammer - issue no .: 4 of the second series, published by the GALAcross many issues, the detailed study of non-violent, direct actions and civil disobedience was extremely important, because for us as a citizens' initiative the more and more pressing question arose as to how the THTR could still be stopped.

Following the actions of Mahatma Gandhi and the grassroots revolution movement, groups emerged all over Germany that cut 10% of their electricity bills as long as nuclear power plants were built or operated with this money. While numerous people refusing to pay electricity payments carried out this act of civil disobedience in neighboring Dortmund, unfortunately there were only very few households in Hamm. Since the editor in charge, Siegbert Künzel, was a "total objector" who refused not only war service but also civilian service, it was very obvious to focus more on war and the military in this magazine. This did not happen abstractly, but specifically in relation to Hamm. It was about disaster control and war preparations, possible nuclear weapons near Hamm, and the goal of a nuclear weapons-free zone. Reports about demonstrations, the mobile peace exhibition, "Silence for Peace", or actions ("How did the pigeon get to the bunker?") showed as examples that a lot can be done locally against war and violence. At the beginning of the 80s, the “Green Hammer” also became part of the newly formed, large peace movement.

Right from the start, right-wing movements in the ecological movement were discussed in the "Green Hammer". For example on Herbert Gruhl, who propagated a kind of eco-dictatorship. Through book reviews by the eco-anarchist Bookchin, references to books such as "Why go to parliaments?", "Freedom Socialism", "Direct Action" and reprints of the magazine "Graswurzelrevolution", the editors set accents that resulted in a strengthening of the action-oriented citizens' initiative movement .

The Greens, which were only founded in 1979, had their say several times through reports and an interview. In some articles the editors pointed out the fundamental differences between citizens' initiatives and the party "The Greens". However, she found that the political goals in terms of content are the same for both political groups - those were still the times! The way in which the Greens acted politically was already criticized by members of the editorial team: "The supporters of the Green Party still claim that they are the parliamentary arm of the citizens 'initiatives. Cooperation with the BI and the Greens' constituency is extremely poor Yes, one can get the impression that the other environmental protection organizations are only important to the Green Party insofar as they represent an arbitrarily exploitable electorate. What kind of impetus has the Green Party given here in Hamm to raise environmental awareness among the population ? - None! But all the more people have let themselves be deterred by idle percentage speculations and number games from intervening independently where there are starting points "(from No. 12, 1980).

In the last editions, a culture section was set up, mainly by printing poems and preparing a culture week. In retrospect, it can be stated that the "Green Hammer" with a total of 23 editions from 1977 to 1982 and a circulation of mostly 500 copies in a city with 170.000 inhabitants could not be a strong counterweight to the Hammer monopoly press in terms of quantity. But it was a successful attempt to arouse interest in other people in the emerging environmental protection movement, to bring existing groups into conversation with one another and to anchor basic knowledge in circles of sympathizers. It is not without reason that some of the readers and editors of this little paper play a not entirely insignificant role in Hamm's local politics today.

But the story of "Der Grüne Hammer" does not end there. In 1984, the former member of the editorial board and member of the Hamm-Uentrop district council (1984 to 1989), Horst Blume, revived this newspaper as the district newspaper of the Green Alternative List for the Hamm-Uentrop district. This community of voters, made up of various citizens' initiatives and the Greens, ran for local elections in Hamm. As a free broadcast, four newspapers were distributed from 1984 to 1986 with a circulation of up to 8.000 copies almost everywhere in Uentrop. In addition to the local election program, it contained some very sharp and polemical accounts with the established parties. Environmental protection and criticism of the THTR were the main topics. But social policy was not left out either. The article "No cheap wages for working welfare recipients" (No. 3, 1985) has probably lost none of its topicality. In 1989 a new editorial group published a fifth edition again. This time to present the local election program and the candidates of the Greens in Hamm-Uentrop.

Horst Blume (Former member of the editorial team of "The Green Hammer")

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