With thanks to the almost 2,500 of you who helped us increase the pressure on the French and UK governments to end reprocessing by sending messages to the ministers attending the OSPAR meeting in Copenhagen - this was the outcome........
NORTH EAST ATLANTIC COUNTRIES
CALL ON UK AND FRANCE TO END NUCLEAR REPROCESSING29 June 2000
The UK and France were isolated today by a decision calling for an end to nuclear reprocessing and the implementation of dry storage at the annual meeting of the OSPAR Convention, in Copenhagen .
The legally-binding decision adopted by OSPAR says "that the current authorisations for discharges or releases of radioactive substances from nuclear reprocessing facilities shall be reviewed as a matter of priority by their competent national authorities with a view to, inter alia, implementing the non-reprocessing option (for example, dry storage) for spent nuclear fuel management at appropriate facilities."
Greenpeace International Political Director Remi Parmentier said: "This is a decisive moment with far reaching consequences, never before has such a strong message been sent by so many countries calling for an end to reprocessing. This truly isolates the UK and France."
The Decision seeks to implement a ban on nuclear reprocessing, by requiring the UK and France to change the authorisations at Sellafield, La Hague and Dounreay to make reprocessing there illegal. However, the ban will be delayed for as long as the UK and France refuse to accept the Decision, and refuse to implement dry storage, as required by today' s decision.