Plutonium shipments cross France every 7-10 days.
A single bullet kills the driver. Two surviving Gendarmes are
killed trying to get their armour and weapons out of the back of
one of the crushed vehicles, while the terrorists slice through the
rear door bolts of the truck. They place a kilogram of C-4 on each
of the 9 flasks of deadly plutonium powder in the truck. Then they
detonate both fuel and plutonium, setting off a panic evacuation of
Paris. The attack takes 12 minutes. The deaths and economic impact
will continue for years.
George Bush claimed that Al Qaeda had blueprints of US nuclear
power plants in caves in Afghanistan.
Greenpeace first revealed that this was yet another State of
the Union falsehood by the US President. But there was a truth
buried in that lie: it would be hard to find better targets for
terrorists today than nuclear power plants and plutonium
shipments.
In Germany, a leaked
Government report has surfaced which concludes that none of
Germany's nuclear reactors would withstand the impact of a
World-Trade-Centre style attack. As a consequence of the report the
Head of the German Federal Office for Radiation Protection has
called on reactor operators in Germany to close down the five most
vulnerable reactors.
The findings confirm research
commissioned by Greenpeace in Germany in the immediate wake of
the attacks on the World Trade Centre.
In
France, Greenpeace has released chilling details of a far easier
and equally deadly terror target: routine, predictable shipments of
plutonium, the equivalent of 40 Hiroshima bombs per convoy, that
cross France every week to ten days.
The report, by Large and Associates, evaluates several
scenarios, including road collisions, tunnel fires, and terrorist
attacks, which might accidentally or intentionally release
plutonium fuel (termed mixed oxide fuel, or MOX) into the
atmosphere. The report models resulting plumes from two sites, one
outside Paris and one outside Lyon.
Easy targets
Greenpeace
has been tracking and exposing MOX shipment routes for years. The
highly predictable schedule of these shipments, and their tendency
to travel close to major population centres, make them easy
targets. Here's a
roadside video shot recently by a Greenpeace volunteer who knew
when and where the shipment would pass.
In the US, MOX fuel is transported in a specially designed
armoured vehicle providing thermal protection to the inner contents
of the cargo hold, and which is equipped with communications,
radiological monitoring and other devices that physically prevent
removal of the consignments, including immobilising foam to
overwhelm an attacker. Each truck is limited to 3 flasks of
plutonium.
In comparison, the French-sourced consignments are transported
in what appears to be a standard ISO container fitted to a
commercial articulated vehicle carrying up to 10 flasks of
plutonium. The space occupied by the flask frame in the container
suggests it is unlikely to have any devices installed to prevent
their physical removal.
Devastating results
Beyond the immediate deaths from the hypothetical attack, the
Large report estimates that 11,000 people -- more than three times
the death toll of the attack on the World Trade Centre -- would die
of long-term effects from radiation exposure.
An attack could require a 110 km (68 mile) sheltering distance.
For comparison, the Eiffel tower is only 15 km (9 miles) from where
the transports pass every week.
The Large report recommends a full study of the wider social and
economic impacts of a plutonium attack or accident. It would be
likely that in the wake of any nuclear contamination of the region,
tourism to Paris and Disneyland would collapse. A vast number of
France's agricultural products, including French wine, would be
banned from export. The radioactive plume could drift over Belgium,
the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany.
The report does not predict deaths or injuries from a panic
evacuation of Paris, but a French Government report from the
Director of Nuclear Safety, Andre Lacoste, admits that no strategy
exists to deal with nuclear incidents -- either accidental or as a
result of terrorist attack.
Unnecessary risk
Now, imagine a scenario in which a terrorist attempted to attack
a windmill. Or a solar farm. Or a wave power station.
A new Greenpeace
report, Sea Wind Europe demonstrates that offshore wind power
alone could provide Europe with one third of its electricity needs.
The International Energy Agency last year published
a report demonstrating that with energy efficiency in
households alone the equivalent energy output of 40 large nuclear
power plants could be saved. With the immediate closure of the most
dangerous reactors, the market for clean energy will be boosted,
generating more jobs and more security. Greenpeace is calling on
European countries to take a lead in promoting renewable energy
development by declaring a minimum target of 20 percent by 2020 at
the upcoming intergovernmental conference on Renewables to be held
in Bonn in June.
Take action
Write US
authorities and ask them to stop the shipment of plutonium to
France.
Become a cyberactivist.
Join the Greenpeace cybercentre and get a free newsletter
highlighting online actions you can take to help stop the nuclear
fuel cycle and protect our threatened world.
Join Greenpeace
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More Information
Read the
full report on the threat of a plutonium fuel accident or
attack in France.