Greenpeace
today revealed plans by German authorities to ship plutonium
on-board a vessel described by the United Nations as
"exceptionally vulnerable to human error" (1). The shipment is
due to take place over the weekend from the north German port of
Bremerhaven to the Dounreay nuclear complex in Caithness
(Scotland).
The 59 kg of plutonium which will be transported in the ro-ro
vessel Arneb are enough to make 15 nuclear weapons. If only one
gram of the plutonium was inhaled by the general population of a
large town or city, then as many as 14,000 additional cancer
deaths could result. It is expected that the shipment will
arrive at the port of Scrabster, near Dounreay, between
December 23rd and 24th.
"This plutonium transport is heading to one of the world's worst
nuclear sites, travelling across the North Sea in December, on
board a vessel that could capsize in less than a minute and a
half. This shipment is one of the most unwelcomed Christmas
presents for the environment", said Rose Young of Greenpeace
International. "But there is still time for the authorities to
stop this madness".
The plutonium originates from the WAK reprocessing plant at
Karlsruhe, which was closed in 1991. During the last few years
it has been stored in a "plutonium bunker" at the nuclear site
of Hanau, but German authorities are currently under pressure
from the State government of Hessen to empty the bunker.
Dounreay will process the material in part in its plutonium
reprocessing plant, where it will be converted into a liquid
nitrate. Eventually it will then be shipped to the Sellafield
complex for conversion to plutonium reactor fuel (MOX) to be
used in German reactors.
The management of Dounreay has been under sustained criticism
over the past few years due to revelations of waste
contamination on the site and in the environment around the
plant. In late October, a fishing ban was imposed around the
radioactive discharge pipe as a precautionary measure. The pipe
discharges radioactive waste into the North Sea and the Atlantic
Ocean, and the ban was imposed because of possible contamination
of seafood and consequent human health risk.
Despite the acknowledged risk, Dounreay's operator AEA continues
to seek to secure foreign reprocessing contracts for its two
reprocessing plants, its efforts being centred on securing deals
with Australia and Germany.
"Dounreay management admitted that mistakes were made in the
past - yet in two days time they will demonstrate that they have
learned little from their predecessors. Together with their
German clients, they are conspiring to bring more radioactive
contamination to a site that is already one of the world's worst
nuclear dump-sites. This plutonium trade must stop", said
Young.
Dounreay has asked the authorisation for a new license to
discharge waste into the environment. The consultation procedure
will close in February 1998 and the Scottish Office will take a
decision later in the year. Greenpeace is opposed to all marine
discharges from Dounreay and other reprocessing plants in
Europe. Norway and other Nordic countries have already stressed
their opposition regarding the Dounreay plant directly to the UK
Government.
For further information:
Rose Young, Greenpeace International, Lerwick, Shetlands tel: +44 (0) 1595 809339
Luisa Colasimone, Greenpeace Communications,tel: +31 20 52 49 546
Notes:
(1) The Observer, Sunday 23 November. According to Professor
Carl Ross, a structural dynamics specialist at the University of
Portsmouth, "if any water gets into its car deck it will capsize
within a minute and a half". back to text
