The media coverage we are referring to arose following the publication of the Royal Decree of 19 February 2020, which transposes the WENRA reference levels of 2014 into Belgian law. WENRA, the Western European Nuclear Regulators' Association, includes the Belgian Federal Agency for Nuclear Control (FANC) among its members. In September 2014, WENRA published new Safety Reference Levels for European nuclear power stations, based on the lessons learned from the Fukushima nuclear disaster. These reference levels relate to the protection of nuclear power stations against external events, such as major earthquakes or floods, which could affect multiple facilities simultaneously. As a reminder: the stress tests revealed that Belgian nuclear power stations are among the most robust in Europe.

Most of the improvements proposed by WENRA in 2014 have already been implemented in the Belgian nuclear power stations via the action plans that Electrabel rolled out in the context of the Belgian stress tests and the operating extensions of Doel 1, Doel 2 and Tihange 1. Our nuclear power stations therefore comply with the new WENRA reference levels.

The new Belgian Royal Decree also includes a number of new regulations specifically applicable to Belgium, including those relating to protection against impact by aircraft . These new requirements only apply to nuclear power stations granted new extensions to their operating licences. The new Belgian Royal Decree therefore has no impact on the current operating licences of Belgian nuclear power stations. As the responsible operator, Electrabel makes sure that its nuclear power stations always comply with legal safety regulations and FANC requirements.

With regard to the aircraft impact resistance of the power stations, the design of each power station may take different types of aircraft into account, depending on the type of aircraft that was considered common at the time of the design. In addition, certain specific contexts of the site in question were taken into account from the outset, such as military airports in the vicinity. In essence, it must be possible to put every power station into a safe condition under all circumstances, and the cooling system must always be guaranteed. This is true for all Belgian nuclear power stations, thanks to their double-walled reactor buildings, extensive redundant safety systems, and the additional investments made by Electrabel in the context of Belgian stress tests (such as providing mobile cooling systems, buying fire-fighting equipment specifically for handling kerosene fires, etc.). This also applies to impact by what are currently considered to be common civil and military aircraft. There are also overflight restrictions above our nuclear sites, and the behaviour of aircraft in the wide vicinity of the power stations is monitored.

Further detailed studies and discussions with the FANC are ongoing to determine the extent to which the resistance of the nuclear power stations to impact of the types of aircraft which will be taken into account could be further improved if certain nuclear power stations are granted an operating extension beyond 2025.

More details on the types of aircraft to be taken into account are directly related to nuclear safety, and are therefore confidential from a legal point of view.