The head of the regional Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) in Voralberg, Roland Frühstück, wants to exert pressure on the Swiss government to speed up decommissioning of its aging nuclear power reactors due to concerns over safety.
Switzerland has four remaining active nuclear power plants, one of which is the oldest non-military reactor operating in the world.
The Swiss government decided in 2011 to shut down one of the plants, which was commissioned in 1972. The plant, in Mühleberg, is now more than 42 years old, and has a similar design to the ill-fated Fukushima plant - although it isn't on the coast in a tectonically active region.
A similar decision has yet to be taken by Switzerland in connection with its Beznau Nuclear Power Plant, which was commissioned in 1969, making it 45 years old.
Switzerland has four remaining active nuclear power plants, one of which is the oldest non-military reactor operating in the world.
The Swiss government decided in 2011 to shut down one of the plants, which was commissioned in 1972. The plant, in Mühleberg, is now more than 42 years old, and has a similar design to the ill-fated Fukushima plant - although it isn't on the coast in a tectonically active region.
A similar decision has yet to be taken by Switzerland in connection with its Beznau Nuclear Power Plant, which was commissioned in 1969, making it 45 years old.
..."The increasing age of the reactors also increases the risks for a nuclear incident and significant economic and environmental damage," Haverkamp said.
