Germany:Power Utilities Threat to World Peace

[The.Greenbase@gb.greenpeace.org]

>> POWER UTILITIES THREATEN WORLD PEACE BECAUSE THEY PRODUCE


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                    GREENPEACE PRESS RELEASE
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>> POWER UTILITIES THREATEN WORLD PEACE BECAUSE THEY PRODUCE
PLUTONIUM - GREENPEACE PROTESTS IN MUNICH, ESSEN AND HANOVER
 
GERMANY, 22 March 1995 (GP) This morning at Bayernwerk's main
headquarters in Munich, at Rheinisch Westfaelische Energiewerke's
headquarters in Essen and at PreussenElektra in Hanover: In front
of the main entrance of all three power utilities in each city, a
large group of activists stretched a banner with the legend
"Bayernwerk [or RWE or PreussenElektra] threatens world peace
because it produces plutonium". Activists placed a large photo
next to the banner simulating what Berlin would look like if it
were hit by a nuclear bomb.
 
Long banners printed with symbols of nuclear bombs were stretched
across the entranceways and leaflets were distributed to the
employees of each utility. The action in this form took place
simultaneously in all three cities.
 
This Greenpeace action directs attention to the negotiations
concerning the Non-Proliferation Treaty that will start in New
York on 17 April. "Whoever wants to talk about the non-
proliferation of nuclear weapons, disarmament and work peace has
to start talking about plutonium, the material that bombs are
made of.  German power utilities are among the largest plutonium
producers in the world," said Greenpeace expert Roland Hipp.
 
For years, the utilities have delivered spent fuel elements from
their NPPs to reprocessing plants in Sellafield (Great Britain)
and La Hague (France). There the plutonium is chemically
separated and then sent back to Germany. Ten kilograms of highly
radioactive reactor plutonium are sufficient to create one
nuclear weapon.  
The amount of plutonium processed in a reprocessing plant is
difficult to measure with complete accuracy. In a plant like
Sellafield 2 that processes 7 tonnes of plutonium per year, the
tolerance of inaccuracy can be between 70 to 210 kilograms. These
amounts can disappear from the books and don't have to be traced.
 
 
There are already 30 nations in the world that possess plutonium.
More and more nations that invest in the development of nuclear
power can exploit this to justify gaining possession of
plutonium.  
"Power suppliers are responsible for plutonium production," said
Roland Hipp. "By 2000 a total of 40 tonnes of plutonium will have
been produced in Germany. That's enough for 4000 nuclear weapons.
This bomb material threatens world peace. Legal or illegal
proliferation of plutonium can't be stopped. Greenpeace demands
that the power utilities stop their production and processing of
plutonium."
 
For more information please call:
Susanne Commerell, Press Officer - ++49-40-31186142
Inge Lindemann, Nuclear Expert   - ++49-40-31186435