Athens urged Ankara to halt its plans to build a nuclear plant at the Akkuyu area, in the southern province of Mersin at the eastern Mediterranean Sea. An area situated hazardously close to an active earthquake producing fault line.
Concerned after the nuclear crisis in Japan, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou called his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan Friday and expressed his opposition to the nuclear plant plans. Greek president Karolos Papoulias went even so far to ask the European Union to intervene and prevent a “catastrophe on its doorstep.”
Turkey’s plans to build its first nuclear power plant in Akkyyu Bay was designated 30 years ago. Last year Turkey signed a construction agreement with Russian State Atomic Corporation, or Rosatom. The town and the nuclear plant area of Akkuyu are situated 140 kilometers from the provincial center of Mersin, but only 20-35 km away from the active Ecemis fault line that triggered the Adana-Ceyhan earthquake in 1998 with a magnitude of 6,2. An earthquake that left 145 people dead, 1,500 injured and many thousands homeless.
Adana-Ceyhan Earthquake 1998
“There is a fault line called the Ecemiş Fault connected to the East Anatolian Fault Line only 25 kilometers away from where the nuclear plant will be built. In general, these fault lines could create serious earthquakes and tsunamis in the future” Professor Selim İnan, Geological Engineering Department, Mersin University told Turkish Hurriyet Daily News (very interesting article Nuclear zeal melts down near Turkey’s Mersin ).
Turkey’spublic and scientists are living their own Fukushima nightmares after the nuclear meld down in Japan.Well-known Turkish journalist and commentator Mehmet Ali Birand urged PM Erdogan to put Akkuyu plans on hold
A storng opposition comes also from chambers and associations of Turkish engineers, architects and physicians – read their statement .
