The Tihange Nuclear Power Station has 3 reactors and is one of two nuclear power plants in Belgium. The plant is located on the bank of the Meuse River, only 3km from the city centre of Huy in the Walloon province of Liège, which has borders with The Netherlands, Germany and Luxemburg. The Belgian energy corporation ENGIE Electrabel is the plant's largest shareholder. Tihange 1 (962MW) came online in 1975, Tihange 2 (1008 MW) in 1983 and Tihange 3 (1015 MW) in 1985. The units were designed for an operational lifetime of 30 years. In 2003, a Belgian law concerning the closure of the Belgian nuclear reactors permitted an operational lifetime of 40 years for the three reactors in Tihange. On July 4, 2012, however, the Belgian government decided that Tihange 1 could operate 50 years. |
Tihange has three reactors, often malfunctioning. There are concerns about their safety expressed even by the official agency for nuclear security. There are also complaints from neighbouring coutries. It's time to close it down.
| Name of conflict: | Nuclear power station in Tihange, Belgium |
| Country: | Belgium |
| State or province: | Liège |
| Location of conflict: | Huy |
| Accuracy of location | HIGH (Local level) |
| Type of conflict. 1st level: | Nuclear |
| Specific commodities: | Uranium Electricity |
| Project details | Laws were passed in Belgium in 2003 (with Olivier Deleuze as Secretary of Energy) to ensure that no additional nuclear plants would be built in Belgium, and to limit the lifespans of the existing plants to 40 years. As so many other nuclear power stations of their generation in other countries, the reactors at Tihange near Huy are old and dangerous. They are owned by ENGIE Electrabel, that itself belongs to a French company. Court cases are pending, including some from neighbouring countries and the city of Aachen. Several reactors have had to be stopped for some time due to various incidents but in at least one case also because of structural degradation: thousands of fissures in the steel around the reactor. However, ENGIE Electrabel finds the old reactors profitable and makes small investments to prolong their lives up to 50 and later maybe up to 60 years. There are growing complaints in Belgium (a small, densely populated country) and also in The Netherlands and Germany - from high profile politicians such as the interior minister of The Netherlands and the president of the European Parliament. |
| Project area: | 75 |
| Type of population | Urban |
| Affected Population: | 6 million |
| Start of the conflict: | 01/01/1975 |
| Company names or state enterprises: | ENGIE - Electrabel from Belgium |
| Relevant government actors: | Federal Agency for Nuclear Control |
| Environmental justice organizations (and other supporters) and their websites, if available: | Ecolo Greenpeace |
| Intensity | MEDIUM (street protests, visible mobilization) |
| Reaction stage | In REACTION to the implementation (during construction or operation) |
| Groups mobilizing: | International ejos Local ejos Local government/political parties Neighbours/citizens/communities Local scientists/professionals |
| Forms of mobilization: | Involvement of national and international NGOs Lawsuits, court cases, judicial activism Official complaint letters and petitions Public campaigns Street protest/marches |
| Environmental Impacts | Potential: Air pollution, Biodiversity loss (wildlife, agro-diversity), Fires, Food insecurity (crop damage), Loss of landscape/aesthetic degradation, Soil contamination, Waste overflow, Surface water pollution / Decreasing water (physico-chemical, biological) quality, Groundwater pollution or depletion, Large-scale disturbance of hydro and geological systems, Reduced ecological / hydrological connectivity, Other Environmental impacts |
| Other Environmental impacts | Radiation that kills life in a vast circle around the plant is a potential threat |
| Health Impacts | Visible: Accidents, Exposure to unknown or uncertain complex risks (radiation, etc…) Potential: Mental problems including stress, depression and suicide, Occupational disease and accidents, Deaths, Other environmental related diseases |
| Socio-economical Impacts | Potential: Increase in Corruption/Co-optation of different actors, Displacement, Increase in violence and crime, Lack of work security, labour absenteeism, firings, unemployment, Loss of livelihood, Loss of traditional knowledge/practices/cultures, Militarization and increased police presence, Violations of human rights, Land dispossession, Loss of landscape/sense of place, Other socio-economic impacts |
| Project Status | In operation |
| Conflict outcome / response: | Court decision (undecided) New legislation Under negotiation New Environmental Impact Assessment/Study Moratoria Project temporarily suspended |
| Proposal and development of alternatives: | Many different EJOs have put forward various plans for replacing the energy produced by Belgium's nuclear power plants with energy from renewables. |
| Do you consider this an environmental justice success? Was environmental justice served?: | No |
| Briefly explain: | Until December 2016 the reactors remain open although they represent a threat. |
| References to published books, academic articles, movies or published documentaries |
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| Related media links to videos, campaigns, social network |
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| Contributor: | Nick Meynen, European Environmental Bureau, [email protected] |
| Last update | 18/08/2019 |
| Conflict ID: | 2511 |