GREEN GROUPS LAUNCH LEGAL CHALLENGE TO STOP NUCLEAR PLANT

5 October 2001

London - The Government is being taken to court to prevent the controversial plutonium plant at Sellafield from opening. Lawyers acting for Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace today filed papers in the High Court.

The judicial review follows Wednesday's decision by the Government to give state-owned British Nuclear Fuels Ltd (BNFL) the go-ahead to begin operations at the mixed oxide (MOX) plant. Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace say the decision is unlawful because:

 the economic 'benefits' of the scheme have been distorted as the £472 million of taxpayers' money spent so far, mostly on constructing the plant, have been disregarded;

 there is insufficient evidence that potential customers, such as the Japanese, will materialise.

Charles Secrett, Director of Friends of the Earth said:

"The Government's decision to allow the MOX plant to open is dangerous, uneconomic and perverse. The decision makes the world an even more dangerous place. The plant will struggle to find clients and may well never make any money. We will challenge Ministers to justify this foolish decision in court.”

Stephen Tindale, Executive Director of Greenpeace said:

"Tony Blair's obsession with all things nuclear has forced through a crazy decision. BNFL is hoping its main customer for MOX will be Japan - yet a referendum held earlier this year showed the Japanese public doesn’t want MOX. If Blair wants to build a new world order, he needs to stop contributing to nuclear proliferation.”

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

- Greenpeace International nuclear campaigner Shaun Burnie on +44 1557 814 288 or Greenpeace International Press Officer, Jon Walter on +31 615093589 or
- the Friends of the Earth Press Office on +44 207 566 1649

Visit www.britishnuclearfuels.com

The MOX plant, completed in 1996, was intended to turn ‘spent’ plutonium and uranium into usable fuel. However, following financial concerns, and in the wake of the MOX data falsification incident, the commercial go-ahead for the plant was withheld. Under EU law, the Government must be able to show - amongst other things - that the economic benefits of the plant outweigh the health and environmental detriments.