Press releases pg. 188

After the fuel charging in the reactor of Unit One has been successfully completed on 14th July 2000 by completion and sealing of the reactor by IAEA of Vienna on Wednesday, 26th July, the preparation of the unit for the reactor start-up continues with another important test. That is the reconfirmation test of containment started today. The containment is the basic security element and the fourth barrier between the nuclear fuel and the environment round the nuclear power plant. The containment also protects the most important parts of the nuclear power plant from external effects.

All seismologic stations within Temelin monitoring network recorded this Tuesday, 11th July 2000, at 0450 hours local time the main tremor caused by the earthquake in Lower Austria near the village Ebreichsdorf, some 25 kilometers from Vienna. According to the analysis performed by the Institute of Physics of the Earth at the Masaryk's University in Brno, the maximal value of ground shifting at the locality of Temelin NPP was 13 micrometers for the prevailing frequency of 4Hz.

The repeated request raised by the Austrian party to inspect the nuclear safety of Temelin NPP on the international level is breaking into an open door. In Temelin NPP this request has been performed already since the spring 1990, in Dukovany 1989 even from September 1989. Commencing from 1990 twelve extensive IAEA missions of Vienna and numerous other international analytical groups visited Temelin NPP. Thousands of hours of work of the experts resulted in recommendations for improvement of NPP design.

On Wednesday, 5th July 2000 at 3.45 p.m., the State Office for Nuclear Safety (SONS) permitted CEZ to charge fuel in the reactor of Unit One. "Our Office fully observed the Atomic Act and related regulations in the permitting proceedings for fuel charging in the reactor of Temelin NPP Unit One. At the moment there is nothing in Temelin NPP to prevent its starting up," commented SONS decision its chairperson Ms. Dana Drabova.