Nuclear Protection - a key task of the Vienna Ombuds Office for Environmental Protection

Responsibilities of the Vienna Nuclear Protection Commissioner

Since 2002, the Ombuds Office has also fulfilled the responsibilities of the Vienna Nuclear Protection Commissioner.

This includes the following tasks:

• Monitoring developments in nuclear policy Europe, especially in neighbouring states that operate nuclear power plants near the Austrian border.
• Providing expert advice to decision-makers in the City of Vienna, as well as formulating position papers, opinions and demands on nuclear energy issues.
• Cooperating in networks and joint projects with citizens, citizens’ initiatives, NGOs, disaster relief officers, and the other federal provinces of Austria
• Establishing an information platform for the local population as well as an expert network on nuclear protection, disaster relief and renewable energy.
• Supporting initiatives in the neighbouring states to increase energy efficiency and switch to other energy sources.
• Representing Vienna’s interests towards representatives of federal authorities and neighbouring countries (bilateral meetings).
• Giving the opinion in Crossborder Environmental Impact Assessments following the Aarhus Convention.

Aims and objectives of the Vienna Nuclear Protection Commissioner

The main aim is creating a Europe without nuclear power plants.

The primary objectives for the coming years are:

• Closing down nuclear power plants based on obsolete technology in the neighbouring states according to a specific step-by-step schedule
• Establishing uniform nuclear safety standards throughout Europe
• Providing reliable and relevant information to the population in Vienna and in the greater region of Vienna
• Sharing experience and expertise on energy efficiency and alternative energy sources

Arguments against nuclear energy formulated by the Vienna Nuclear Protection Commissioner

• Accidents in nuclear power plants can have disastrous implications. As in the case if Chernobyl, large areas around the site remain unusable forever. Even people living further away from the plant suffer from the after-effects - increased cancer incidence and an unusually high rate of deformities among newborn children - for decades after the incident.
• Nuclear power plants produce radioactive waste, such as spent power rods, part of which must be kept in safe storage for hundreds of thousands of years.
• In total, nuclear energy covers less than three percent of the total global energy demand. Even without increasing this low share, uranium resources will be depleted by the end of this century. Reactors using other types of radioactive material than uranium, such as plutonium or thorium, are much more accident-prone.
• Uranium mining leaves large areas contaminated by radioactive radiation.
• Nuclear waste from power stations can be used as raw materials for nuclear weapons.
• The costs of nuclear energy are borne by the public at large rather than the actual energy producers. Taking into account all costs involved, nuclear power is a costly form of energy.
• The legal framework for nuclear energy creates a lot of exclusive rights for this form of energy and excludes major parts of the population from keeping tabs on the nuclear industry by means of effective and transparent checks.

Further information from the Vienna Ombuds Office for Environmental Protection

• The Chernobyl nuclear disaster (German)