COGEMA'S RADIOACTIVE DISCHARGES MAKE SEA-BED NUCLEAR DUMP

CHERBOURG, 13 June 1997

Radioactive discharges from the La Hague plutonium plant have severely contaminated the ocean floor, said Greenpeace today. Preliminary analysis of sediment from the ocean floor around the plant's discharge pipe has been found to be higher than the levels set by the European Community for controlled nuclear waste.

In order to get these samples, a team of four divers had to work in extremely dangerous conditions, diving against treacherous currents to find the end of the pipe at 27 metres depth, 2 km off the western coast of Cap La Hague.

The sediment collected by Greenpeace and analysed for gamma radiation in the University of Bremen laboratory were found to contain a mixture of dangerous radioactive isotopes including: Americium, Antimony, Barium, Cobalt, Europium and Manganese. Americium is one of the most radiotoxic substances in the world, as deadly as plutonium. Cobalt 60 has the potential to contaminate any life-form which gets in contact with it and provokes various forms of cancers and blood-poisoning.

"If this sediment were found in a back-yard or a nuclear laboratory, the material would be classified as nuclear waste and handled and stored in controlled conditions," said Damon Moglen of Greenpeace. "Here in France though, the government allows fishing, swimming and boating in the waters around the discharge pipe-- but, you are not allowed to drop an anchor in the area as you might damage the discharge pipe."

"Radioactive waste pumped into the sea by COGEMA's two factories have turned the sea-bed into nuclear waste," said Penelope Komites of Greenpeace France. "We demand that the French government stop these radioactive discharges in order to protect public health and the environment."

In addition to its domestic contracts, governmentally- controlled COGEMA has also received irradiated fuel from and reprocessed plutonium for Germany, Japan, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden and Spain.

On nearly a daily basis, the plutonium separation or "reprocessing" factories at La Hague pump radioactive contamination into the air, land, and sea. The plant is in fact the single largest source of radioactive contamination in the European Union. On a yearly basis, La Hague discharges some 230 million litres of radioactive waste liquid into the sea. Some of the contamination is retained in the marine environment off the French coast - dangerous traces retained in crabs, clams, fish and seaweed. Other contamination spreads northward along the North Sea coast of Europe and up into Nordic and even Arctic waters.

Greenpeace has called on the new French government to honor its pledge to conduct a full review of the country's nuclear program--including its long-standing commitment to reprocessing.

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Damon MOGLEN, Greenpeace International, tel: +31 6 534 17 947

Luisa COLASIMONE, Greenpeace Communication, tel: +31 6 5312 8907