The commitment to respect the Environment by A.I.E. Almaraz-Trillo Nuclear Plants is reflected in the organisation’s Environmental Policy.

The Environmental Policy drives the application of the Environmental Management System and its continuous improvement, reflecting the Board’s commitment and constituting the founding principles on which the annual objectives programme is based, and in more general terms, the activities of the company in relation to the Environment.

ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY

The mission of ALMARAZ-TRILLO NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS is to produce electricity in a manner which is safe, reliable, economic, respectful of the environment, and which guarantees production over the long term, by optimum operation of the Almaraz and Trillo nuclear power plants, and an Environmental Policy has been defined appropriate to its nature, magnitude and environmental impact, which serves as a reference for the establishment and review of objectives and environmental aims, and based on this, it commits to:

• Guarantee compliance with the environmental legislation in force and any other voluntarily accepted requirements, maintaining an attitude of ongoing adherence.
• Operate the installations with respect for the environment, identifying, preventing, controlling and minimising, as far as possible, the environmental impact of its activities.
• Continually making improvements to all processes which could have environmental repercussions.
• Controlling and reducing leakages as far as reasonably possible, and conventional and nuclear waste.
• Motivating and training staff in respect to the environment, stimulating development of an environmental culture and communicating the Environmental Policy within and external to the Organisation.
• Introducing and maintaining updated a Standard Environmental Management System.

Almaraz-Trillo Nuclear Plants continued to implement significant activities in relation to environmental issues during 2013, and these are incorporated in the Environmental Management Programme, the most significant of which are detailed below:

Engineering work is in progress to replace fluorinated gases which affect the ozone cover, in order to totally eliminate the use of hydrochloroflourocarbons as cooling agents by the end of 2014, as established in European Union Regulations 2037/2000. This involves approximately 120 items of equipment across both plants, which will require very substantial modifications. Replacement of the equipment has been taking place since 2009.

Throughout 2012 and 2013, work to seal and decommission the former Trillo NPP waste dump was carried out, consisting of a cover to prevent leachates, a gas extraction network and revegetation. The stability of the slope was also improved. The work will be completed in 2013, with the approval of the Government of Castilla-La Mancha.

During 2013, in order to reduce paper consumption within the organisation, the distribution of hard-copy “Design Modifications” documentation to the Departments involved, was replaced by electronic distribution with a link to the report itself.

The probes to measure the temperature in the Arrocampo and Torrejón reservoirs, used to control the corresponding thermal conditions, were replaced at Almaraz NPP. The new probes are equipped with online data transmission, which results in a significant improvement in the availability of information.

In September 2013, the Environmental Management System (ISO 14001) was audited by the Spanish Association for Standardisation and Certification (AENOR), after the Certificate had been in force for eight years, and it was declared to be “compliant”.

The auditors inspected the Almaraz and Trillo plants and activities at the Plant Offices. Prior to that, in April, an internal System audit was implemented, which forms an obligatory part of the verification process.

There were several inspections by the Nuclear Safety Council on subjects related to the environment at both plants.

Almaraz and Trillo plants have historically implemented various environmental monitoring programmes, with the aim of verifying the absence of significant environmental impacts as a consequence of their activities, whether of a radiological or conventional type.

STUDIES OF THE AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS

Basically, two environmental studies of the surrounding areas of the Almaraz plant were carried out incorporating the Arrocampo and Torrejón reservoirs: ecological study of the aquatic ecosystem and thermal study of the reservoirs.

These surveillance studies are broadly based because the Arrocampo reservoir must also be regarded as another system forming part of the plant as it was constructed specifically for industrial cooling of the Almaraz Plant, and it is used for final heat dissipation which requires the most accurate knowledge possible about characteristics relating to its capability to fulfil the cooling function in both the short and the long-term. This requires intensive management and surveillance of both biological and physico-chemical parameters, especially temperature.

The environmental study of the aquatic ecosystems carried out in the vicinity of the Trillo plant consist currently of monitoring the river Tajo, where the surplus thermal discharge is made after cooling in the towers, and the general phisico-chemical condition of the Plant, and the Entrepeñas reservoir, located downstream in the proximity of the Plant.

This study covers evaluation of the water quality from the physico-chemical viewpoint, and its content of metals and other undesirable substances, as well as the characteristics of other elements of the aquatic ecosystem such as sediments, benthic algae, phyto and zoo plankton and ichthyofauna.

ENVIRONMENTAL RADIOLOGICAL MONITORING

The Almaraz and Trillo Plants employ continuous and strict control and monitoring of their own radioactive effluent emissions. Nonetheless, in order to verify experimentally the impact radioactive elements might have on the environment, the plants have implemented an Environmental Radiological Monitoring Programme (ERMP) through direct measurement of radiation levels in the surroundings near to the installations, and of the content of radioactive substances from a series of types of environmental samples which are collected from a set of sampling points.

Comprehensive monitoring is carried out on all abiotic elements and living organisms represented in the ecosystems associated with all the natural resources of the surroundings of the plants (air, land and water).

Over a thousand samples are taken at each of the Plants and between 1,500 and 2,000 different types of analyses are carried out (gamma spectrometric, beta activity, environmental doses, strontium, tritium and radioiodine), clearly demonstrating the magnitude of the surveillance implemented.

The usefulness of the results obtained from the analysis are assured through parallel implementation of a quality control programme by another laboratory, independent of the main one, and by the implementation of a programme of direct independent monitoring (PVRAIN) by the Nuclear Safety Council.

Also, in the case of the Almaraz Plant, a collaboration agreement is maintained with CEDEX to enable this official body, reporting to the Ministry of Development, to carry out independent surveillance of the aquatic resources in the proximity of the Plant. Extremadura Council also carries out independent radiological monitoring, with the help of the University of Extremadura.

The results obtained during 2013 at both plants indicate that the radiological state of the ecosystems in their surroundings have experienced no significant variations during the year, with natural background values remaining unchanged, confirming the absence of environmental effects due to the leakage of radioactive elements, rendering radiologically insignificant any leakages from both plants.

METEOROLOGICAL STUDIES

The Almaraz and Trillo plants employ meteorological stations to continuously measure and record the most significant parameters such as temperature, precipitation, wind direction and speed, humidity and solar radiation. The meteorological information is of particular relevance for various applications related to the environment, providing an excellent description of the climate at the site, after thirty years of monitoring.

The stations provide the required redundancy to ensure continuous availability of meteorological information.