Text of report by South African news agency SAPA web site

Cape Town, 21 May: Environmental pressure group Earthlife Africa has called for an independent safety review of the Koeberg nuclear power plant, north of Cape Town.

In a report released on Friday, the organization expressed concern at what it described as "secrecy, non-disclosure and wilful manipulation of health and safety records" at Koeberg.

The safety record needed to be opened to a full independent review, while concerns around health issues and deaths of ex- workers needed a judicial commission of enquiry.

Earthlife said its research suggested that even though Eskom [state-run electricity company] had been praised for its safety record at Koeberg by institutions such as the International Atomic Energy Agency, there should still be deep concerns over operational issues.

Among these were the way spent fuel pools were re-racked, the use of faulty thermo-couple seals manufactured in France, the stressful conditions under which plant operators worked, and the way operational issues were reported and acted on, or not.

Ageing infrastructure and components were also cause for concern.

Earthlife said its ultimate aim was the shutdown of the nuclear energy industry and the pursuit of safer and more viable means of generating energy for South Africa.

Eskom on Friday evening was preparing a response to the Earthlife document.