Greenpeace's campaign to Stop Plutonium Terror

Today's press conference.

Departure Hong Kong

18 June 2002

Customs is cleared, supplies are on board, the anchor is up and the engines are full ahead. We've left Hong Kong harbour and are bound for Japan - where at the port of Fukui the crew of the MV Arctic Sunrise will bear witness to the departure of the first sea shipment of plutonium since September 11th.

Or maybe not. An investigation by the UK's Environmental Agency might still delay or block the shipment. The material being sent back to the United Kingdom is mixed oxide plutonium - which was delivered to Japan in 1999, but deemed unsafe for use because quality control data was falsified during manufacture.

The crux of the current legal issue is whether the material should be classified as nuclear waste. Under a 1993 law, if the shipment is waste then it must be authorised by the Environmental Agency, and British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) has not even applied to the agency for authorization.

European regulations define radioactive waste as, "any material which contains or is contaminated by radio-nuclides and for which no use is foreseen". The Herald on Sunday (UK) reported that according to a BNFL spokesman, "No, we most definitely do not consider it to be waste. It has a future use but that has not been decided".

Now, I am not a lawyer but it sounds to me like they don't know (that is - can't foresee) what the plutonium will be used for. So that (legally) makes it waste. Right?

Lawrence, the nurse on the Arctic Sunrise had a slightly different take, "This stuff is poison. Whether it's legally waste or not, it doesn't belong around people or on the ocean".

Hong Kong.
Leaving Hong Kong harbour.
Either way, we'll arrive in Japan in about a week. Hopefully the legal system will stop what amounts to a floating terrorist target. If not, then our job will be to warn countries on route, and the rest of the world, if and when 225kg of weapons useable plutonium puts to sea.

-- Andrew

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Press Releases Archive Links	Today's press conference. Departure Hong Kong 18 June 2002 Customs is cleared, supplies are on board, the anchor is up and the engines are full ahead. We've left Hong Kong harbour and are bound for Japan - where at the port of Fukui the crew of the MV Arctic Sunrise will bear witness to the departure of the first sea shipment of plutonium since September 11th. Or maybe not. An investigation by the UK's Environmental Agency might still delay or block the shipment. The material being sent back to the United Kingdom is mixed oxide plutonium - which was delivered to Japan in 1999, but deemed unsafe for use because quality control data was falsified during manufacture. The crux of the current legal issue is whether the material should be classified as nuclear waste. Under a 1993 law, if the shipment is waste then it must be authorised by the Environmental Agency, and British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) has not even applied to the agency for authorization. European regulations define radioactive waste as, "any material which contains or is contaminated by radio-nuclides and for which no use is foreseen". The Herald on Sunday (UK) reported that according to a BNFL spokesman, "No, we most definitely do not consider it to be waste. It has a future use but that has not been decided". Now, I am not a lawyer but it sounds to me like they don't know (that is - can't foresee) what the plutonium will be used for. So that (legally) makes it waste. Right? Lawrence, the nurse on the Arctic Sunrise had a slightly different take, "This stuff is poison. Whether it's legally waste or not, it doesn't belong around people or on the ocean". Leaving Hong Kong harbour. Either way, we'll arrive in Japan in about a week. Hopefully the legal system will stop what amounts to a floating terrorist target. If not, then our job will be to warn countries on route, and the rest of the world, if and when 225kg of weapons useable plutonium puts to sea. -- Andrew Back