Romania sees Belene nuclear power plant as "dangerous"

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Bulgaria's planned nuclear power plant at Belene on the Danube River posed a risk to Romania's energy security, a top aide to Romanian president Traian Basescu said, as quoted by Romanian daily Business Standard on February 20 2008.

The nuclear power plant in Belene, which would be built next to the border with Romania, used the same technology as the one in Chernobyl and as such posed an "energy security risk" for Romania, Basescu's defense aide Constantin Degeratu was quoted as saying.

On April 26 1986, one of the reactors at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant near Kiev, now in Ukraine, exploded and sent a plume of highly radioactive fallout into the atmosphere. It is the worst nuclear power plant disaster in history.

Degeratu made his comment when discussing the functions NATO could have in ensuring the energy security of its member states during a conference on the issue, held in Bucharest. The conference was part of a series of events, culminating in the NATO summit in the Romanian capital in April.

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