01/12/2005
- International — In a daring 2AM action, twenty Greenpeace
activists have blocked the loading of illegal nuclear waste
in France.
A Russian freighter, the Kapitan Kuroptche, was preparing
to transport more than 450 tons of radioactive uranium waste
to Russia when the activists blocked cranes on the ship
and the pier. The waste originated from the Pierlatte uranium
enrichment plant in the Rhone Valley. It's part of a thirty-year-old
practice of dumping nuclear wastes produced in Europe in
Russia, where federal law prohibits the import of foreign
waste. We're just putting it
there for now: honest!
France claims the waste is going to
Russia for reprocessing -- the process by which plutonium
is separated from spent fuel -- but in fact only a small
portion is treated. In reality, it's simply being put
out of sight, out of mind, with no long-term solution
for what to do with it on the horizon. Greenpeace has
filed a case in the Moscow district court against the
Russian government nuclear export company, Tecksnabexport.
The nuclear industry would prefer these shipments happened
in secret, as they underscore a key reason why nuclear
fuel is not a viable energy solution, and why nuclear
power is not a solution to climate change.
Vulnerable to attack, dangerously
shipped
But in addition to being illegal,
the shipments are also highly dangerous. Shipments between
west European ports are regularly transitting through
the North Sea, Skagarak, the Baltic and the Gulf of Finland
before arriving at St Petersburg. The shipments are made
on general Russian-owned cargo vessels rather than purpose-built
ships, despite known hazards and risks. The transportation
route goes through major cities such as St Petersburg
(5 million population) and Tomsk (0.5 million) and passes
the coasts of Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany,
Sweden, Norway and Finland. An accidental release or terrorist
attack could be devastating.
A new report from Greenpeace, "Europe's
Radioactive Secret", details the illegal nuclear
waste trade between Europe's nuclear industry and the
Russian Federation.
The nuclear wastes concerned are of
two types: contaminated uranium resulting from reprocessing
at the Cogema/Areva facilities at la Hague, Normandy;
and depleted uranium (DU) from nuclear fuel enrichment
at facilities in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and
the UK. These facilities support the day-to-day operation
of Europe's 135 nuclear reactors.
Eleven Greenpeace activists braving sub-zero temperatures
on board inflatable boats blocked the Russian cargo vessel
'Kapitan Kuroptev' near Kronshtadt, some 30 km west of
St. Petersburg, Russia. The Kuroptev crew used water hoses
on the activists, the resulting ice made continued protest
impossible. Once the Kuroptev has docked in St Petersburg
the 450 tons of radioactive uranium waste is due to be
transported by rail for over 3,000 kilometers to nuclear
sites in Siberia.
The containers used to transport the uranium waste do
not meet current International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
standards and pose a serious risk during the thousands
of kilometres journey to the Russian dump sites, where
they are illegally stored or disposed. A large percentage
of the waste is in the form of hexafluoride crystals which
can react violently to water leading to dispersal of toxic
gas, inhalation of which can be fatal.
The world urgently needs to shift
its energy supply to clean, safe, renewable energy. Delegates
meeting in Montreal to discuss the implementation of the
Kyoto Protocol need to remember that nuclear power is
not an answer.
You can help. Sign up as an Energy
Revolutionary and urge the host of the climate summit,
Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin, to stand up to the
polluters and strengthen the resolve of the countries
that want to take real action on global warming. |
