Stichting Laka

Publication Laka-library:
Danger to German nuclear power plants from crashes by passenger aircracft (2001)

Author	H.Hirsch, Greenpeace
Date	November 2001
Classification	6.01.3.20/35 (NUCLEAR SAFETY - REACTORS - PRESSURIZED WATER (PWR) / BOILING WATER (BWR))
Front

1 Introduction

Before 11 September a passenger plane crashing into a nuclear power plant was 
an almost non-existent risk factor in the minds of those responsible for such plants. 
Not only power plant operators, but also those speaking for organisations with 
authority and expertise, had filed away such an event under "extremely unlikely".
"At all events the fact is, however, that with other planes, that is, giant aircraft 
and the like, the order of probability of a crash is many times lower [than with 
warplanes]… " Certainly hardly anyone would have contested this statement by 
a representative of an important authority made almost two years ago (1). Since 
the probability of a crash with a military aircraft had been put at one in a million to 
ten million per year for any nuclear power plant site, it follows that the probability 
of a crash by a big passenger aircraft in a year would have to have been around one 
in 1,000,000,000,000, a minute figure tantamount to zero.
Now the question of what can in fact happen if a passenger plane crashes into 
a nuclear power plant - be it accidentally or brought about on purpose - is now all 
at once topical.
In an initial attempt at an answer, after making an inventory of the buildings and 
installations which belong to a nuclear power plant, and of their safety standards in 
Germany, an investigation will be made into what problems can arise in the event 
of a crash by a big or medium sized plane, and what can then happen as a result.
Finally it will be discussed what countermeasures would be conceivable, particularly 
measures which can be taken in a relatively short time and do not make special 
requirements in technical terms.
The German Federal Republic was for a long time a country in the front line in the 
Cold War. Its airspace had a high density of military planes. This is reflected in the 
safety standards required in guarding against plane crashes. These are only applied 
in relation to military planes; but these standards are in all events relatively high 
in western European terms.
However, as can be seen, in Germany too there are great shortcomings in protection 
against crashes by passenger aircraft - even at the most modern and most relatively 
well protected facilities. It is to be feared that this assessment applies with even 
greater force to other EU countries and countries in central and eastern Europe 
which operate nuclear power plants.

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