(ANSA) - TRIESTE, APR 18 - The scientific community is refocusing its attention on the Krško nuclear power plant in Slovenia and the project for a second reactor (Krško 2) planned next to the current plant, in a seismic-prone area. A paper by two geologists, Livio Sirovich and Kurt Decker, published in the Seismological Society of America journal, which has been the most read in recent weeks, seems to have revived the topic. The authors of the paper criticise the controversial regulatory framework governing Krško's seismic safety. The plant, which began operating in 1983, was designed and built in the 1970s when Yugoslavia lacked a complete seismic map of the region. According to Sirovich and Decker, Krško is among the nearly 150 power plants in Europe that face the highest risk of major earthquakes. The analysis also focuses on the 1917 earthquake, which was recorded near the site and has magnitude estimates in the literature ranging from 5.7, 5.9, and 6.2. The authors state that the design documentation for Krško 2 takes into account a magnitude 4.9 scenario. The paper also mentions Slovenia's gradual increase in seismic resistance parameters assigned to the plant (from 0.3 g to 0.6 g) and questions the assessment of a fault near the plant, which they note could be incompatible with site suitability under the International Atomic Energy Agency's criteria. Finally, the authors dispute a popular map attributed to Gen Energija, arguing that it contains location errors that artificially reduce the perception of risk in Krško and "move" the plant to a less dangerous area. (ANSA).