The Russian war in Ukraine is rekindling debates on nuclear power that have long since ended in Germany. Now a statement by TÜV Süd is coming into focus. A law firm raises serious allegations. Was current nuclear law ignored?
In the debate about a longer term for the Bavarian nuclear power plant Isar 2, a legal opinion accuses the TÜV Süd of bias in the safety assessment of the reactor. The Hamburg law firm Michael Günther accuses him of a “sloppily argued commissioned work” that “cannot be recognized as a serious assessment”. The statement was prepared on behalf of Greenpeace Germany and is available to the German Press Agency. The impression also arises that the TÜV ignores the applicable nuclear law, it says.
In view of an impending energy crisis and a possible acute shortage of gas, there are discussions in Germany as to whether extending the service life of the remaining nuclear power plants could help. According to current law, the Isar 2, Emsland (Lower Saxony) and Neckarwestheim 2 (Baden-Württemberg) nuclear power plants are to be shut down by December 31, 2022 at the latest.
In mid-June, an expert opinion by TÜV became known, which, on behalf of the Bavarian Ministry of the Environment, considers continued operation of the Isar 2 nuclear reactor beyond December 31, 2022 to be possible from a safety point of view. The TÜV report dated April 14, 2022 states that a restart of Block C in Gundremmingen, Bavaria, which has already been shut down, is “possible from a technical point of view”. Since then, the proponents of a lifetime extension – such as the CSU – have repeatedly cited the report as evidence that the date set by law in the course of the nuclear phase-out had to be overturned.
According to the legal opinion commissioned by Greenpeace, the evaluation was “apparently intended for use as a weapon in the current discussion about extending the service life in the political arena”. TÜV Süd certifies what the client wants. “Regardless of the condition and without checking the nuclear power plant, the result is already clear for the TÜV,” says Heinz Smital, nuclear physicist and Greenpeace nuclear expert. The apparently short processing time of the TÜV also fuels the suspicion “that a courtesy report has been created here,” according to the lawyers.
Three Berliners are said to have denigrated the virologist Christian Drosten on a campsite in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Police and prosecutors are investigating. The allegations are substantiated, and the campsite operator also reacted.
Tarek Müller drove drunk on an e-scooter through Hamburg at night. The police stopped him. A fine of 1,500 euros followed. However, Müller did not want to pay this and lodged an objection. The result: now he has to shell out 80,000 euros.
The US economy shrank in the spring. After a decline in economic output at the beginning of the year, gross domestic product fell by 0.9 percent on an annualized basis in the second quarter, the Department of Commerce announced on Thursday. Experts had expected growth of 0.4 percent.
