MOX Ships have departed _THIS_ morning
national |
miscellaneous |
news report 
Friday April 26, 2002 13:32
by Barry O'Donovan - Gluaiseacht
fgod at email dot com
087-2320437
Update and Greenpeace press release
MOX ships have departed from Barrow on a journey to secure the future of the sellafield MOX plant.
In an ill-timed move which smacks of BNFLs astounding arrogance and indeed removal from reality, this morning, the 16th anniversary of the worst recorded civilian nuclear disaster two ships depearted from Barrow-in-Furness in West Cumbria near Sellafield.
These ships are begining what may prove to be the most controversial nuclear shipment to date. They travel to Japan to collect and return to Sellafield 225 kg of plutonium contained in 8 MOX fuel assemblies which were rejected for reactor use because critcal safety checks and data had been falsified.
This fuel will then be transported through international waters (on an unspecified and potentially uncertain route) and through the Irish sea to sellafield, at which point BNFL prevarication and mis-information cause the issue to become confused.
BNFL have publicly stated that the fuel will be put into storage and its eventual disposition is undecided, whilst the British Government in their submission to the ITLOS last November stated that no shipments related to Sellafield MOX plant would take place until Oct. 2002 at the earliest. Alternately, in submission to the US congress to get approval for the shipment BNFL stated that the plutonium was to be extracted and remanufctured into new fuel assemblies for shipment to Japan, whilst the Japanese government has said that this shipment is essential to any orders being placed with the Sellafield plant.
One wonders wheter it is the public or private BNFL which gives such solemn assurances that the shipment will be safe. Such shipments have gone 'missing' before!
For background information see :
http://www.indymedia.ie/cgi-bin/newswire.cgi?id=2501
http://intellit.muskingum.edu/intellsite/israel_folder/israelplumbatop.html
See also Greenpeace press release on this:
http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/contentlookup.cfm?CFID=35505&CFTOKEN=85265595&ucidparam=20020426120745
Comments (2 of 2)
Jump To Comment: 1 2There is to be a protest today at 4.30pm meeting at the British embassy on Merrion Street and heading to the Japanese Embassy at the Merrion centre on Nutley lane for approx. 5pm
We will be calling on the Japanese government and people to end their involvement in the MOX fuel program which is designed to extend the life of the sellafield complex and further postpone the day when a decontamination of the Irish Sea can begin.
Write, Fax, phone or E-mail your opinion to the British and Japanese ambassadors in Ireland.
E-mail these details to your friends and collegues and ask them to do likewise. Print off the details and the story and give it to some one who does not have computer access.
Massive outrage and massive action are among the few tools we have at our disposal. It may not be on the same scale but we can piss them off too.
British Ambassador: H.E. Sir Ivor Roberts
British Embassy, 29 Merrion Road, Dublin 4.
Phone +353 1 205 3700
Fax: +353 1 205 3885
Web: www.britishembassy.ie
email: publicaffairs.dubli@fco.gov.uk
Japanese Ambassador: H.E. Mr Takeshi Kagami
Embassy of Japan, Merrion Centre, Nutley Lane, Dublin 4.
Tel: +353 1 269 4244.
Fax: +353 1 283 8726 or +353 1 260 1285
email: culture@japaneseembassy.ie
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