Hundreds of Austrians shut down the Wullowitz-Dolní Dvořiště border crossing between Austria and the Czech Republic on two separate occasions this month, most recently Jan. 13.

The protesters want to pressure their government to fight Temelín's operation, which they say harms the environment and their health. The plant lies 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the border.

"Protests have just started," said Roland Egger, chairman of Atomstopp, the group responsible for the blockades. "An end is not foreseeable yet."

Protesters block the Austrian side of the border with a large truck for several hours at a time. So far, the Czech government has not put pressure on Austria to intervene, and the protesters have received little challenge from Austrian police.

"Our protest is understood widely in Austria, especially in Upper Austria — and policemen are not an exception," Egger said.

Incidents like Jan. 22 don't help. Workers temporarily took Temelin off of the grid for several hours because of a defect caused by frost.

Technically, Temelín has been on trial operation since December 2000, even though it appears fully operational: It produces nearly half of the country's nuclear power and nearly 15 percent of the country's overall energy.

In late 2005, south Bohemian authorities gave the plant permission to officially go on-line, but Temelín spokesman Milan Nebesář said plant officials sought to prolong its trial operation status because they predicted obstructions by protesters.

The South Bohemian Regional Construction Department granted Temelín's request to maintain that status through 2006.

The plant has long been a contentious issue between Austria and the Czech Republic. Egger said protestors blocked a total of 17 different border crossings in 2000.

The situation improved in 2001, when the two nations signed the Melk agreement, in which the Czech Republic said it would look into the environmental impact of the station. It took four years to produce a report, which concluded last October that the plant met safety requirements.

"Dozens of monitors measure regularly the output of radioactive material getting in the air and the values are under one percent of the given authorized limits," said Jiří Hanzlíček, an environmental adviser to the Czech Industry and Trade Ministry and a member of the government commission for evaluating Temelín's impact.

"For illustration, this is much less radiation than what people are exposed to in one year from natural radioactivity."

Austrians are skeptical that the Czechs carried out a full investigation.

Czech press reports say nine out of 10 people living in Upper Austria still view Temelín as a danger, and protesters still feel that the Czech Republic did not uphold its end of the bargain.

"With the agreement, we promised to stop the roadblocks," Egger said. "Despite all promises of politicians, the major safety questions of Temelín remained open. Our promise to quit the roadblocks is therefore obsolete."

An advocate general to the European Court of Justice submitted a report Jan. 11 saying that Austrian courts have the right to hear accusations of environmental impacts to their country from Temelín. The position opens the door for potential lawsuits in Austrian courts against Temelín if the European Court sides with the opinion of its advocate.

Germany, which sits less than 60 kilometers away from Temelín, has no official problem with it, said Horst Zabka, one of the German observers of the plant.

"It fulfilled its obligations in the context of the examination mechanisms," he said. "Beyond that, the Czech Republic cooperates continuously with Germany and Austria in questions of nuclear security."

Egger said that protesters would continue frequent roadblocks through mid-2006, the length of Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel's term as head of the European Council. Egger said there is a sense of urgency with Austrian elections slated for this autumn.

"If Schüssel does not react in the meantime, Temelín will be a topic of the Austrian election campaign," he said.