Hans Blix new member of Vattenfall Nuclear Safety Council
To ensure world-class safety and production in its nuclear power plants, Vattenfall is implementing an investment programme, adjusting its organisation and recruiting external members to an independent Nuclear Safety Council with external and international participation.
Lars G Josefsson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Vattenfall AB, presented Hans Blix as a new member of the independent Nuclear Safety Council in Berlin on Wednesday. Blix, whose former posts in-clude Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and UN inspector in Iraq, will assist Vattenfall in enhancing the safety of its nuclear power plants together with other international nuclear energy experts.
Participants of the council will be Dr Hans Blix, former IAEA Director general, and Peter Hirt, chairman of Swiss Nuclear and CEO of Gösgen – considered since many years as one of the best nuclear power plants in the world – along with P.O. Waessman, Vattenfall’s Chief Nuclear Officer, Hélène Biström, head of the Pan European Business Group, Karl Bergman, Pan European Nuclear Manager, and representatives from Vattenfall’s new Pan European Nuclear organization.
“The Nuclear Safety Council is part of our efforts to raise standards so that our nuclear power plants rank among the very best in the world,” Josefsson declared.
To modernise and improve safety and make power upgrades in the plants, Vattenfall will invest EUR 1.6 billion (SEK 17 billion) over the next five years.
“Vattenfall aims to be a global leader in nuclear safety and operation and wants to be recognised for this. Because of its very low CO2 emissions, excellent environmental performance, competitiveness and operational safety, nuclear energy plays an important role in Vattenfall’s vision of making electricity clean,” Josefsson said.
He underlined that trust is a requirement for the operation of nuclear power plants. Greater openness towards society is necessary to maintain this trust.
Hans Blix agrees and pointed out that he will be monitoring Vattenfall’s transparency. Using his international contacts, he will also assist Vattenfall in learning from the work of others.
Enhanced safety and availability is also the reason behind Vattenfall’s new organisational structure, effective as of 1 January 2009. All nuclear activities are gathered in a pan-European business group.
For further information, please contact:
Edvard Lind, press secretary, telephone +46-8-739 56 74, mobile +46-70-358 63 30.
From Vattenfall's Press Office, telephone: +46 (0)8-739 50 10.