16 Mar (NucNet): Turkey faces a number of unique security threats that it will have to contend with as it continues to develop nuclear power and “comprehensive policies” are needed to protect the country’s future nuclear power stations and related infrastructure, a study by an independent think tank says.
The study, by the Istanbul-based Centre for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies (Edam), says Turkey, as a prospective holder of nuclear energy infrastructure and as a state that has suffered from terrorism for decades, will need to develop “a sophisticated risk assessment for its nuclear programme that goes well beyond conventional security strategies”.
The study says Turkey is a known transit route for nuclear smuggling, has experienced decades of terror attacks, and currently borders two conflict zones in Iraq and Syria. “These challenges are not limited to Turkey, but nevertheless, as a new nuclear state, Ankara has an incentive to identify potential threats and adopt comprehensive policies to protect the country’s future nuclear power plants and related infrastructure,” the study says.
The study says effective nuclear security in Turkey will include measures designed to protect from the insider threat, physical security, cyber security, development of a design basis threat, and learning from international guidance and accepted best practices.
The study calls for the Turkish government to draft a comprehensive and integrated set of regulations governing nuclear security. “These regulations should be curtailed to account for the unique threats Turkey faces, rather than simply be verbatim copies of International Atomic Energy Agency regulations.”
A comprehensive assessment of the dangers facing critical national infrastructure such as nuclear stations is crucial. This is especially true for nuclear facilities because of “the variety of vulnerabilities and the profound risks surrounding them”. Yet, according to the study, there are no open source documents published by Turkish government agencies or non-governmental organisations on the topic.
For more than six decades, Turkish officials have advocated for the development of nuclear energy to help decrease the country’s reliance on imported fossil fuels, the study says. In 2010, Turkey concluded an agreement with Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom for the construction of four VVER-1200 reactors at the Akkuyu site, near the coastal city of Mersin. In May 2013, Turkey signed an agreement with a Mitsubishi-led Atmea consortium to build a second nuclear power station near the city of Sinop.
The government wants all four Akkuyu units and the first Atmea unit to start operations by 2023, the study says.
In the next decade, Turkey’s energy demand is expected to double, rising roughly seven percent per annum, according to the study. As a country that possesses very limited cheap and clean energy sources, Turkey is “heavily dependent” on imported energy. According to World Bank data, almost all of the oil and natural gas Turkey consumes is imported, and more than 70 percent of the country’s total energy consumption is supplied through imports.
Energy imports, which amounted to around $60 billion (€56 billion) in 2012, are the leading factors behind the country’s current account deficit, the study says.
‘Nuclear Security: A Turkish Perspective’ is online: http://bit.ly/1NZfNbi
