NATURE OF THE APPEAL
In March I visited Turkey as a guest of Greenpeace International on a tour to speak about the proposal to build a nuclear power plant at Akkuyu Bay on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. I came back from that tour re-invigorated and impressed by the similarity of the struggle around the world to oppose the 'conventional' electricity technologies such as nuclear and coal generation, and support efficiency and renewable energy.
Whether in the small farming community of Buyukeceli near Akkuyu, or in the big cities of Istanbul and Ankara, Turkish citizens understand very well the risks of nuclear development and the benefits of a system that emphasizes conservation and renewables.
Many groups and individuals endorsed the "Ottawa Declaration - - No CANDU for Turkey" issued by the Campaign for Nuclear Phaseout in September 1997. I am now asking for as many groups and individuals as possible to write several letters to continue our campaign to stop the construction of Turkey's first nuclear power plant at Akkuyu.
BACKGROUND
In December 1996, the Turkish state electrical utility TEAS (Turkish Electricity Generation and Transmission Company) invited bids from foreign reactor vendors for the construction of a 100% financed nuclear power station to be built at Akkuyu Bay on Turkey's Mediterranean coast. TEAS is expected to pick a winning nuclear vendor to construct the plant as early as July or August 1998.
There are three international consortia bidding:
- Nuclear Power International (NPI) -- a partnership of Siemens (Germany) and Framatome (France).
- Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), with partners including Kvaerner-John Brown (UK), Korea Electric Power Corporation and Hanjung (South Korea), and Hitachi (Japan)
- Westinghouse (USA) and Mitsubishi (Japan).
The vendors' main bids are as follows:
- NPI is bidding a 1980s vintage Siemens 1400 MW Convoy PWR;
- Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) is bidding to supply two 700 MW CANDU reactors (Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors) in a two-unit station; and
- Westinghouse /Mitsubishi is bidding a single 1200 MW PWR.
For more detailed background on this issue, please consult a report that I wrote last year, entitled "The CANDU Syndrome: Canada's Bid to sell reactors to Turkey". It was published by Campaign for Nuclear Phaseout, and is posted in full on the web sites of the Campaign for Nuclear Phaseout and the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility.
PLEASE TAKE THE FOLLOWING FOUR ACTIONS
TO STOP THE AKKUYU NUCLEAR PLANT !
- Forward this message to individual members of your organization (post it on your home page, and publish it in your newsletter).
- Write to Prime Minister Chrétien and the Minister of Natural Resources Ralph Goodale to oppose the export of nuclear reactors to Turkey. They can both receive the same letter with different addresses (see below for a short summary of good reasons for opposition).
- Please write to the Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz and Energy Minister Cumhur Ersumer of Turkey opposing this deal. Again they can both receive the same letter with different addresses (please send by fax and put the original in the mail).
- Please copy your letters to Nuclear Awareness Project as a clearinghouse (regular mail is good, but E-mail is OK too).
Addresses and fax numbers are:
The Right Hon. Jean Chretien
Prime Minister of Canada
Room 309-S, Centre Block, House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6 [Postage Free]FAX 613-941-6900
The Hon. Ralph Goodale
Minister of Natural Resources
Room 175, East Block, House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6 [Postage Free]FAX 613-992-5098
Sayin Mesut Yilmaz
Basbakan
Ankara, TurkeyFAX +90 312 417 0476
Sayin Cumhur Ersumer
Enerji ve Tabii Kaynaklar Bakani
Enerji ve Tabii Kaynaklar Bakanligi
Devlet Konya Yolu Uzeri
Bestepi, Ankara, TurkeyFAX +90 312 212 2973
REASONS TO OPPOSE THE AKKUYU NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
POINTS FOR LETTERS TO
PRIME MINISTER JEAN CHRÉTIEN AND
NATURAL RESOURCES MINISTER RALPH GOODALE
- Economic Risks for the vendor country
Turkey is demanding 100% financing of the Akkuyu plant, even including the local costs, which will be to its direct economic benefit. It is not clear if Turkey will provide a `hard' sovereign guarantee of the debt. In addition, there are crucial questions about: the absence of risk insurance on the loans; whether the vendor will be required to provide a performance guarantee; who will make up the shortfall in case of cost overruns; and the degree to which vendors will have to transfer their manufacturing and marketing rights. There have also been suggestions that Turkey is demanding "counter-trade" agreements - - a carpets for nukes deal!
- Nuclear Weapons Proliferation
The dark underside of nuclear power has always been its potential for nuclear weapons proliferation, either through the production of plutonium - - an inevitable byproduct of reactor operation - - or through the transfer of sensitive nuclear information, technology and materials. Since the early 1980s there have been reports that Turkey has aided Pakistan in its acquisition of nuclear weapons. Turkey's attempt to build the Argentinean CAREM-25 reactor was likely aimed at plutonium production for nuclear weapons.
- Security Threats
Terrorists do not need nuclear weapons if they can trigger a catastrophic radiation release by sabotaging or bombing a nuclear power plant. Potential security threats to a nuclear plant in Turkey would be both internal and external. Turkey has been in a virtual state of civil war for more than a decade, and the longstanding military conflict with Greece over control of Cyprus is again heating up. Cyprus is directly offshore from proposed nuclear station at Akkuyu Bay.
- Human Rights in Turkey
Turkey has a long history of gross human rights abuses, and these abuses have worsened in recent years. Abuses include systematic, widespread torture and murder of prisoners in custody; death squad murders; disappearances; restrictions on freedom of speech; and incommunicado detention without legal representation. A virtual state of war with Kurdish rebels has resulted in an estimated 20,000 deaths since 1984 and the displacement of two million people in the southeastern provinces, where a state of emergency is in place.
- Turkish Politics
Turkey does not provide a secure environment for a risky, multi-billion dollar, long-term nuclear investment. There have been four military coups in recent years in Turkey in 1960, 1971, 1980, and 1997. On June 18, 1997, the democratically elected Prime Minister, Necmettin Erbakan, was forced to resign by the military and Mesut Yilmaz, leader of the conservative Motherland Party, was named Prime Minister. The intense political instability of Turkey in 1996-97 has also destabilized the country's economy. Annual inflation in Turkey is over 80%. The annual deficit is about $15 billion, and the country's debt is about $100 billion.
- Seismic Risk
The risk of earthquake damage is a serious consideration for the Akkuyu nuclear site. One analyst has stated, "There is a probability of 50% that an earthquake of magnitude 7 Richter or more will occur within 100 kms of Akkuyu Bay within the next 40 years."
- Akkuyu Puts the Monk Seal at Risk
The Mediterranean Monk Seal (Monachus monachus) is one of the ten most endangered species in the world, with only about 200 seals left in existence. There is a seal colony on islands in the mouth of Akkuyu Bay. The water intake and sea traffic for the plant will pose a real danger to the seals.
POINTS FOR LETTERS TO
TURKISH PRIME MINISTER MESUT YILMAZ AND
ENERGY MINISTER CUMHUR ERSUMER
- Safety and Environmental Impacts / Alternatives
All reactor designs share certain basic safety and environmental risks - - namely the risk of catastrophic accidents; the problem of routine emission of radioactive pollutants; as well as the production of radioactive waste and the ultimate problem of reactor decommissioning.
Turkey has a relatively low per capita electricity consumption. This is an opportunity rather than a problem. Turkey has an opportunity to avoid the mistake of investing in nuclear power that has been made in many countries. A truly sustainable energy future in Turkey will be based on efficiency and renewable energy not nuclear power.
- Nuclear Power is a Failed Technology
Throughout the western world, nuclear power has been put on hold. It is widely recognized that nuclear power is the highest cost option for electricity generation, and carries significant environmental, safety, and economic risks not shared by other forms of generation. Nuclear performance is often poor, resulting in even higher costs. Nuclear power plants typically have very long lead time for design, approval, and construction, in addition to high capital cost. Disguised costs include radioactive waste management and reactor decommissioning.
- Nuclear Power will harm Turkey's Tourism Industry
The construction of a nuclear power plant on the Mediterranean Sea will do irreparable damage to Turkey's valuable and growing tourism industry. Construction of the Akkuyu nuclear plant will drive tourists away, and could lead to a boycott of Turkey as a tourist destination.
- Akkuyu Puts the Monk Seal at Risk [see above]
PLEASE DO NOT DELAY
IN SENDING YOUR LETTERS
Nuclear Awareness Project
P.O. Box 104, Uxbridge, Ontario,
Canada L9P 1M6Tel/Fax 905-852-0571
E-mail: nucaware@web.net
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