|
OSPAR 2000 |
LATEST NEWS - Implementation of OSPAR Decision 2000/1 and the OSPAR Strategy with Regard to Radioactive Substances (Pdf document)
North East Atlantic countries call on UK and France to end Nuclear processing
Click here for the final OSPAR decision text
Click here to view the Greenpeace video 'Deadly Tide' highlighting the obvious dangers of dumping radioactive waste at sea
(streaming video hosted by
You will need the latest version of RealPlayer to view this file)
Click here to see final web cam image from the sea bedOn the night of Wednesday 28th June COGEMA - the French nuclear company that owns and operates the La Hague nuclear reprocessing facility - admitted to having cut "by accident" the transmitting cable of the Greenpeace underwater webcam.
This webcam had been filming and broadcasting live footage of COGEMA's radioactive discharges on to the internet and also on to a large screen in the conference centre of the OSPAR Commission in Copenhagen.
The webcam had been graphically demonstrating how every day COGEMA deliberately pump over one million litres of liquid radioactive waste through the pipeline into the sea.
By Thursday morning Greenpeace divers had managed to repair the web cam connection.
The Greenpeace divers also installed a device on the end of the discharge pipe. The Greenpeace device, called OSPAR - which stands for Object to Stop Pollution from Accumulation of Radioactivity - divided the radioactive discharge into 6 separate streams representing each of the countries that send their nuclear waste fuel to La Hague for reprocessing. Each stream had a separate valve which could be closed, symbolising the ease of turning off the radioactive discharges.
The six countries which contribute to the La Hague radioactive discharge operation are France, Japan, Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium.
The installation of the device sent a clear signal to the annual meeting of the OSPAR Commission, in Copenhagen, where government representative's from 15 countries throughout Europe decided during the afternoon of Thursday 29th June to call for an end to nuclear reprocessing and the implementation of dry storage.
However, France and the UK, will argue that they are not bound by a decision that they did not agree to. But in reality they are politically and publicly isolated if they continue to pollute the oceans against the wishes of their neighbouring countries and the public. Greenpeace left the La Hague discharge pipe on Friday 30th June but will continue their campaign until France and the UK implement the OSPAR decision and end reprocessing once and for all.