Transport
PLUTONIUM STATEMENT

Statement by Deputy Minister PR Mokaba

For Immediate Release
Friday, January 31, 1997

Contact person: Mrs Muriel Dube - 083 655 7922
Private Secretary

OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS AND TOURISM

Pretoria--On the eve of the arrival in waters off the South African Coast by the Vitrified high Level Radioactive Waste (VHLW) on board the British Flagged, from France en-route to Japan, the government of the Republic of South Africa through my ministry wishes to reiterate its long established opposition to any and all transboundary movement of hazardous and toxic waste. In particular we wish to repeat our opposition to the Pacific Teal with its cargo of nuclear waste from entering our EEZ.

Notwithstanding assurances given regarding the safety measures taken and the commitment that Pacific Teal will indeed keep out of our water as she would sail at 300 nautical miles from our coast, it must be stated that transboundary movement of hazardous and toxic substances remains a dangerous enterprise that all civilised nations must seek to ban. Trade n such waste also remains immoral and always involves lack of sensitivity towards the peoples of the en-route nations which, in most cases, are developing and poor countries often without the both resources and capacities to deal with the severe health and other consequences that will inevitably result in case of accident.

The principle must be promoted and complied with that countries which produce nuclear, hazardous and/or toxic waste must themselves develop capacity to process such waste for re-use or safe disposal within their own borders. Secondly it must be upheld that countries which by any means receive products or substances whose final stages would generate toxic and/or hazardous waste should also develop capacity for safe disposal of such waste within the borders of their won country. No nation must enjoy the right to expose another to danger. Whether within or outside the specific EEZ any accident relating to nuclear or toxic substances will have a detrimental effect to the marine resources.