EU to conduct nuclear stress tests in wake of Japan crisis

BRUSSELS. March 16. KAZINFORM The European Union (EU) would conduct "stress tests" on its member states' nuclear power plants in the wake of Japan's nuclear crisis, the bloc's energy chief Guenther Oettinger said here on Tuesday; Kazinform refers to Xinhua.

The tests would include risk assessments of possible damage by earthquakes and high water levels, Oettinger told the European Parliament's Energy Committee.

The development came as fears of a nuclear meltdown mounted over Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant, which was seriously affected by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake on Friday and the massive tsunami that followed.

The tests would be concluded by the end of the year, Oettinger said, adding that thorough stress tests would also take place in nuclear plants of neighboring countries including Turkey, Russia and Switzerland; Kazinform cites Xinhua.

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