Italian activist arrested after stopping a nuclear waste train bound for Sellafield
Greenpeace activists blocked an Italian nuclear waste train, on its way to Sellafield in Cumbria, for two hours yesterday.
Some of the Italian activists chained themselves to the railway tracks, while others held banners demanding, "No nuclear transports".
"Nuclear waste does not have to be reprocessed; it produces pollution, other waste and weapons-useable plutonium," said Domitilla Senni, of Greenpeace Italy. "Nuclear waste must be managed by the country that produces it."
The Italian utility, Enel, signed a contract with British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) in 1980 for the reprocessing of 105 tonnes of spent nuclear waste fuel. 53 tonnes are still to be sent to Sellafield. The waste is stored at a research centre at Saluggia (Vercelli) near Turin.
This was the second shipment from Italy this year. An earlier shipment arrived at Barrow Docks in April. That transport included spent nuclear waste fuel from Italy's Garigliano power station which closed down over 20 years ago. Italy scrapped its nuclear power programme following a public referendum in 1987, in which 87% voted against nuclear power.
On that occasion, Martin Forwood of Cumbrians Opposed to a Radioactive Environment said "It beggars belief that, after 20 years of storage in Italy, it is now being sent to Sellafield and to THORP which can't even cope with its existing orders. The Italian transport is particularly unwelcome because, with no nuclear power, Italy will clearly not be taking back the uranium or plutonium recovered at THORP and we'll end up stockpiling it all."
A total of 13 transports are expected from Italy. The transports are made by rail from west of Turin via Switzerland to Dunkirk, and onward by ship to Barrow. These transports are expected to arrive at Sellafield before the end of 2004.
