Swiss nuclear power plants are not at risk from flooding

Swiss nuclear power plants are not at risk from flooding Keystone-SDA

According to an inspection by the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate, the safety-relevant buildings of the Swiss nuclear power plants are not at risk in the event of a flood. This also applies to the central interim storage facility on the site of the Beznau power plant.

According to the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (Ensi), the relevant buildings at the Beznau, Gösgen and Leibstadt nuclear power plants and the decommissioned Mühleberg nuclear power plant are not at risk in the event of a major flood event occurring every 1,000 years or every 10,000 years.

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In the case of Beznau, the safety-relevant buildings would remain completely dry in the event of a 1,000-year event. In the case of a 10,000-year event, this would result in a flow depth of around 0.4 metres.

In the case of Gösgen, the flow depth would be around 0.85 metres in the latter scenario, according to the Ensi. Both power plants would also not be affected by possible bank erosion in the event of a flood, it added.

The safety-relevant parts of the Leibstadt nuclear power plant would also be flood-proof due to their location approximately 20 metres above the normal water level of the Rhine and slope stability would be guaranteed. According to the Ensi, the central interim storage facility (Zwilag) in Beznau would remain dry in both scenarios.

The Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Villigen AG would remain dry in both flood scenarios mentioned, according to the Ensi. However, two buildings could be jeopardised by bank erosion in the event of a 10,000-year event.

As a consequence, the PSI has drawn up a procedure according to which radioactive material should be moved to an unaffected building in the event of imminent extreme flooding. Structural bank protection measures are also planned for one of the two buildings.

Adapted from German by DeepL/ac

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