Biblis nuclear power station not to be shut down

The party taking legal action tried to obtain a preliminary order from the court, obligning the operator of the Biblis reactor to shut down the reactor until another action in court, for revocation of the operating licence for this reactor, will be finally decided upon. The party consists of citizens living in the environs of the reactor station at a distance of up to 70 km. The action was dismissed by the court, stating: if the court considers the material (guidelines, expert opinions, risk analyses, reports, etc.) underlying the supervisory authority's investigations and appraisals as sufficiently conservative and free of biased considerations, summary proceedings commenced by legal action will not have to consider contrary opinions, including scientific expert opinions. A decision of a court for decommissioning of a power plant may not be taken on the basis of considerations in contradiction to the purpose pursued by the supervisory authority in accordance with section 1, no. 1 Atomic Energy Act, to foster the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Any opinion brought forward in order to justify abandonment of nuclear power, referring to a certain 'safety philosophy', must be neglected by the court. (Kassel Administrative Court, decision of 28 June 1989 - 8 Q 2809/88). (orig./HP)