Portugal sends complaint to Brussels over Spain's nuclear waste deposit plan

Portugal sent a complaint to the European Commission on Monday regarding Spain's decision to build a nuclear waste deposit in Almaraz, about 100 km from Portugal's border, Lusa news agency reported.

Spain's Secretary of State for the European Union Jorge Toledo Albinana told the Portuguese Secretary State of European Affairs in Lisbon on Monday that the civil works would begin in the next days.

However, Toledo said the authorization procedure for the operation had not yet taken place, and a report by the Spanish Council of safety would be required, according to Lusa.

Portugal's government said that an assessment on the impact the waste facility will have on Portugal should have been carried out.

The Almaraz nuclear plant began to be built in 1972 and started operation in 1981.

Covering an area of 1,683 hectares, the plant produces 9 percent of Spain's energy consumption.

Environmental activists noted that the plant should have been closed in 2011 but that its licence was prolonged until June 2020.

And the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011 aggravated environmentalists' security concerns on the Almaraz plant, which uses the Tagus River, a river also shared by Portugal, for cooling

Last Thursday dozens of environmental groups protested outside the Spanish Consulate in Lisbon to demand a shutdown of the Almaraz nuclear plant. Endit