Stress-test for nothing?

Are the stress tests of the 143 nuclear reactors in Europe just a public relations massage to soothe the European public following the accident at Japan’s Fukushima reactor? To believe La Voix of Luxembourg, the stress tests, scheduled to begin on June 1 (the findings will be delivered to the European Council on December 9) will have been carried out “for nothing”. Indeed, the “minimal level” compromise agreed to on May 24 by the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (ENSERG) “provides highly sophisticated safety checks to test the ability of nuclear power plants in the EU to withstand natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods that can be ‘the outcome of any type of accident resulting from a natural event or act of man’,” said a diplomatic source quoted by the newspaper. However, the paper notes, “the regulators have stated in their draft declaration that they have no competence in matters relating to security against terrorism.” “In other words, there is little to expect from these stress tests,” the newspaper concludes.