Eskom rubbishes false ‘radioactivity’ claims made by Willem Petzer

In a statement issued on Sunday, South African power utility Eskom has hit back at prolific vlogger Willem Petzer after he posted and deleted a video in which he claimed to have revealed the truth about the Koeberg power station.

After causing slight panic among his viewers with his exaggerated claims about waste leakages, Petzer has since claimed the sources he based his initial video on were wrong and that was why he took the video down.

“Eskom has noted with concern irresponsible allegations made by a Mr Petzer in a video recording where he alleges that there have been nuclear safety breaches at Koeberg power station. Eskom can confirm that Koeberg is currently running both units safely and producing 1960 MW into South Africa’s power grid,” reads their statement.

Koeberg general manager Velaphi Ntuli also commented on the three past incidents referred to by Petzer in his video, stating that the power utility was aware of the incidents, but there had not been radioactive waste leaks at the power station.

“It is important to note that Eskom’s nuclear oversight committee conducted a thorough investigation in order to understand in detail the impact of the three events, even though these were below regulatory levels. The committee found that there was no risk to members of the public, staff, or the environment. South Africans can rest assured that there are no radioactive waste leaks at Koeberg,” said Ntuli.

Koeberg hosts quarterly Public Information Safety Forum (PSIF) meetings where members of the public are given detailed feedback about the station’s safety and performance in pursuit of transparency and accountability.

The power station has invited those interested in learning about nuclear safety and how a nuclear power plant is run to attend these sessions.

This can be done by scheduling a visit to Koeberg’s visitors’ centre or browsing the Eskom website, which features reading material containing facts on nuclear power generation.

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