Turkiye quake revives debate over nuclear plant being built
Nicosia (Cyprus) (AP): A devastating earthquake that toppled buildings across parts of Turkiye and neighbouring Syria has revived a longstanding debate locally and in neighbouring Cyprus about a large nuclear power station being built on Turkiye's southern Mediterranean coastline.
The plant's site in Akkuyu, located some 210 miles (338 kilometres) and 245 miles (394 kilometres) to the west of the February 6 tremors' epicentres, is being designed to endure powerful tremors and did not sustain any damage or experience powerful ground shaking from the 7.8 magnitude earthquake and aftershocks.
But the size of the quake the deadliest in Turkiye's modern history sharpened existing concerns about the facility being built on the edge of a major fault line.
Rosatom, Russia's state-owned company in charge of the project, says the power station is designed to "withstand extreme external influences" from a magnitude 9 earthquake.
In nuclear power plant construction, plants are designed to survive shaking that is more extreme than what's been previously recorded in the area they're sited.
The possibility of a magnitude 9 earthquake occurring in the vicinity of the Akkuyu reactor "is approximately once every 10,000 years," Rosatom told The Associated Press via email last week. "That is exactly how the margin of safety concept is being implemented."
An official with Turkiye's Energy Ministry, when contacted by the AP, said there were no immediate plans to reassess the project. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government protocol. Some activists, however, still say the project the first nuclear power plant in Turkiye poses a threat.
Nuclear facilities are constructed of heavily reinforced concrete, sized for significant earthquake shaking and far more robust than commercial buildings, said Andrew Whittaker, a professor of civil engineering at the University at Buffalo who is an expert in earthquake engineering and nuclear structures.
The fact that it's sited off the western end of the East Anatolian Fault, which was linked to last week's powerful tremor, suggests that the design would have been checked for significant shaking, Whittaker added.
Still, Whittaker said, it would be prudent to reassess seismic hazard calculations in the region for all infrastructure, including the plant.
"There's no reason to be concerned, but there's always a reason to be cautious," he said.
That's little comfort to activists in Turkiye and on both sides of ethnically divided Cyprus. They've renewed their calls for the project to be scrapped, saying that the devastating earthquake is clear proof of the great risk posed by a nuclear power plant near seismic fault lines.
In a statement to the AP, the Cyprus Anti-Nuclear platform, a coalition of over 50 Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot environmentalist groups, trade unions and political parties, said it "calls on all political parties, scientific and environmental organisations and the civil society to join efforts and put pressure on the Turkish government to terminate its plans for the Akkuyu nuclear power plant."
Cypriot European Parliament member Demetris Papadakis asked the European Commission what immediate actions it intends to take to halt the plant because of the dangers posed by building a nuclear power station in a seismic zone so close to Cyprus.
Nuclear power plants worldwide are designed to withstand earthquakes and shut down safely in the event of major earth movement about 20 per cent of nuclear reactors are operating in areas of significant seismic activity, according to the World Nuclear Association.
For example, Japanese nuclear plants, including the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant, are in regions where earthquakes of up to magnitude 8.5 may be expected, the association said.
Stricter safety standards were adopted after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, when a tsunami crashed into the Daichi plant, melting three reactors and releasing dangerous levels of radiation. And the Diablo Canyon Power Plant in California was designed to safely withstand earthquakes, tsunamis and flooding that could potentially occur in the region too, according to its operator.
Turkish nuclear regulators provided the license for the plant's construction in Akkuyu in 1976 following eight years of seismic studies to determine the most suitable location, but the project was slowed down after the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986. Construction of the first reactor started in 2018. Large nuclear power plants have traditionally taken a while to build because of the size, scale and complexity of the infrastructure, and delays associated with first-of-a-kind plants.
According to Rosatom, a study by Turkiye's Office for the Prevention and Elimination of Consequences of Emergency Situations indicates that the site in Akkuyu some 60 miles (95 kilometres) from Cyprus' northern coastline is located in the fifth degree earthquake zone, which is considered the safest region in terms of earthquakes.
The plant design includes an external reinforced concrete wall and internal protective shell made of "prestressed concrete," with metal cables stretched inside the concrete shell to give additional solidity to the structure, the company said. And the modern reactor design, Russia's VVER-1200, includes an additional safety feature a 144 ton steel cone called the "core catcher" that in an emergency, traps and cools any molten radioactive materials, Rosatom added.
The company emphasised that power units with VVER-1200 reactors comply with the post-Fukushima requirements of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
There's a political dimension to qualms about the plant: Cyprus has accused Turkiye of augmenting the Turkish Cypriots' dependence on it in order to entrench the island's ethnic division. Turkiye has said it would supply the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north of the island with electricity through an undersea cable. A pipeline suspended a couple of hundred metres under the Mediterranean's surface is already supplying the north with water.
The plant, whose first of four reactors is scheduled to go online later this year, will have a total capacity of 4,800 megawatts of electricity, providing about 10 per cent of Turkiye's electricity needs.
According to government figures, if the power plant started operating today, it could singlehandedly provide enough electricity for a city of about 15 million people, such as Istanbul, Rosatom added.
It's estimated to cost USD 20 billion. Rosatom has a 99.2 per cent stake in the project, and is contracted to build, maintain, operate and decommission the plant.
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Correspondents' dinner firing: World leaders say political violence has no place in democracy
Washington (PTI): World leaders expressed relief that US President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania and other guests were unharmed after a shooting incident at the White House Correspondents' dinner here on Saturday night and asserted that political violence has no place in a democracy.
Reacting to the incident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was relieved that President Trump, First Lady Melania and Vice President J D Vance were safe and unharmed after a security incident at the White House Correspondents' dinner in Washington.
Modi said violence has no place in democracy and must be unequivocally condemned.
"Relieved to learn that President Trump, the First Lady and Vice President are safe and unharmed following the recent security incident at a Washington DC hotel. I extend my best wishes for their continued safety and well-being. Violence has no place in a democracy and must be unequivocally condemned," Modi said in a post on X.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has had frequent run-ins with Trump, described the shooting incident at the Washington Hilton hotel as a “disturbing event”.
“I am relieved that the President, the First Lady, and all guests are safe following reports of gunfire at the White House correspondents’ dinner in Washington tonight. Political violence has no place in any democracy, and my thoughts are with all those who have been shaken by this disturbing event,” Carney said in a post on X.
President of the Republic of Korea, Lee Jae Myung asserted that political violence “can never be justified under any circumstances.”
“The Government of the Republic of Korea firmly opposes all forms of violence and extremism that erode the values of democracy and the rule of law,” he said in a social media post.
Prime Minister of Japan Sanae Takaichi said, “Violence must never be tolerated anywhere in the world”
“I am relieved to hear that President Trump is safe following the terrifying gunfire. Violence must never be tolerated anywhere in the world,” she posted on social media.
Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu called the incident “an attack on all the democracies.”
"This wasn't just an attack on Donald Trump. This was an attack on a candidate for the presidency of the United States. This was an attack on America. It was an attack on democracy, it was an attack on all the democracies,” he posted on social media.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said it was “good that President Trump and his wife are safe following the recent events”.
“We send them our respect. Violence must never be the way,” she said.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he was pleased to hear all attendees were safe. “We applaud the work of the Secret Service and law enforcement agencies for their swift action,” he said in a statement.
Delcy Rodriguez, the acting President of Venezuela following the capture of Nicolas Maduro by US forces, condemned the attack against Trump.
"We extend our best wishes to them and to all attendees of the Correspondent’s dinner. Violence is never an option for those who uphold the values of peace," she wrote on X.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also took to social media to condemn the incident, stating he was "deeply shocked" to hear the news.
"Relieved to know that President Trump, the First Lady, and other attendees are safe," Sharif said.
Trump has survived two assassination attempts over the past two years – first at a presidential election campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024, and later in Palm Beach, Florida, on September 15, 2024.
