Greenpeace today condemned nuclear industry plans for a shipment
of highly radioactive nuclear waste which will depart from the port
of Cherbourg in Normandy (France) to Japan on June 4th(1).
Major safety concerns over these shipments, including the risk
of catastrophic accident that would release radioactivity into the
marine environment, as well as the potential for a terrorist attack
have led many governments around the world to oppose nuclear sea
shipments of high radioactive level waste.
"G-8 summit leaders have just highlighted the threat posed by
the spread of nuclear material and fighting international terrorism
around the world, and yet France and Japan have just sanctioned
this massive floating 'dirty bomb' to sail thousands of mile
threatening coastal countries across the planet. Who is threatening
who in the world?" asked Shaun Burnie, Greenpeace International
nuclear campaigner.
The most likely route the British flagged Pacific Swan transport
ship will take is the Caribbean Sea/Panama Canal route to Japan as
it is the shortest and therefore cheapest. Two other courses, via
Cape Horn or via the Cape of Good Hope are also possible (2). The
French plutonium company Cogema in La Hague, which reprocessed the
waste has stated that the route will be disclosed after departure
(3).
The transport has been delayed by several months due to
opposition from en-route Governments. Major hurdles to the shipping
state's (Japan and France) plans include legislation in Chile
requiring approval for nuclear shipments to enter their coastal
waters and moves in Panama to pass legislation against nuclear
transport. In February, Pacific Island nations comprehensively
rejected efforts by the UK, France and Japan to silence their
opposition to shipments. The shipping states had sought to convince
them that there was substantive liability coverage for the
shipments. Caribbean nations joined those in Africa and the Pacific
in opposing a shipment in 2002 of plutonium fuel from Japan to the
UK.
"The Pacific, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean countires
have called for an end to these shipments through their waters,"
said Yannick Rousselet nuclear campaigner of Greenpeace France.
"The transport states are not complying with their legal
responsibilities and that is why the en-route nations are now
taking their own political and legal actions to ban the shipments,"
he concluded.
The shipment comes at a time when Japan's plutonium program is
in its deepest crisis. Two weeks ago it was reported that Japan's
ruling Liberal Democratic Party was proposing to make significant
changes in its nuclear program.(4) In particular plans to use
plutonium mixed oxide fuel, MOX, in 16-18 reactors by 2010 would
not be realized. The sole justification for reprocessing at la
Hague has been the 'need' for plutonium for fuelling reactors in
Japan. However, these plans have ground to a halt, while it has
accumulated massive stocks of weapons-usable material. Cogema
currently is storing more than 23,000 kilograms of plutonium
belonging to Japan. Latest estimates for the cost of its Japan's
domestic reprocessing program to be centred at Rokkasho-mura have
cited costs in excess of 120 billion Euros (15 trillion
yen).(5)
"For decades it has been known that reprocessing makes no sense
from any perspective. These dangerous shipments are a potent symbol
of the bankruptcy of Japan's obsession with plutonium - but they
also present a wholly unjustified threat to tens of countries along
the shipping route. This madness must stop," said Tom Clements of
Greenpeace International.
Notes: 1 - The British-flagged 'Pacific Swan' departed its homeport in the UK on June 1st 2003 bound for Cherbourg, in advance of its 12,000 mile voyage (if the Panama Canal route is chosen) to the port of Mutsu-Ogawara, in northern Japan. The vitrified high-level waste to be carried is a by-product of the plutonium separation from Japanese irradiated nuclear fuel at the French state-controlled COGEMA la Hague nuclear reprocessing plant on the Normandy coast. As a consequence of reprocessing at la Hague, more than 23,000 kilograms of Japanese plutonium is stored at the site.2 - Previous nuclear waste shipments have gone via the Caribbean/Panama; Cape Horn; and the Cape of Good Hope/Tasman Sea/South Pacific. In addition to strong opposition along all these routes, the Pacific Swan would encounter severe weather during the Southern Ocean winter if it was to use either of the Cape routes.3 - The June 2 Cogema news release on the waste shipment can be found at:http://www.cogemalahague.com/LaHague/HomeUK.nsf/DynaFrame?ReadForm&Espace;=Actualite&Alias;=5juinjaponuk4 - see Mainichi Shimbun June 24th 2003.5 - see Kyodo News May 15th 2003.