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| Nuclear contaminati |
Greenpeace International - According to leaked documents published today in the UK 'Independent on Sunday' newspaper, customers of troubled nuclear company, British Nuclear Fuels Ltd (BNFL), are deeply dissatisfied over massive cost overruns and failures in key facilities at Sellafield. According to the documents, customers are considering legal action if the situation continues. Greenpeace today said the documents, available at www.britishnuclearfuels.com, totally contradicts BNFL's public statements that it has rebuilt customer confidence, and that it will obtain sufficient contracts to allow the UK government to approve the opening of the Sellafield mixed oxide (MOX) plutonium fuel plant, SMP.
The internal documents detail talks between senior officials from British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) and its overseas plutonium reprocessing clients from Japan, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Italy, during two meetings held in September 2000 and March 2001. They show how dissatisfied BNFL's clients are with the embattled plutonium company. Rejecting the assurances made by BNFL Chief Executive Norman Askew in September last year that BNFL was a changed company, in March this year the overseas utilities instead describe it as returning to "its previous ways of being unresponsive and unwilling to help."
"Some of your customers believe that the situation is now becoming critical and are calling into question whether BNFL has breached the implied terms of the contracts due to the lack of performance in the areas of reprocessing and vitrification," read the statement to BNFL in September last year. "I'm sure you don't need me to tell you, that if BNFL's under-performance continues in these areas, there could be a complete loss of confidence in all aspects of BNFL's services", they continued.
Greenpeace International nuclear campaigner, Shaun Burnie, said negotiations over waste substitution are particularly troubling as this relates to BNFL and customers plans to agree to the dumping of vast volumes of low and intermediate level nuclear waste in the UK, with only high level waste being returned to customers.
"This leaves the UK public and environment confronted with the dangers of massive volumes of long-lived hazardous wastes into the foreseeable future," said Burnie. "If implemented, this would be financially favorable to the clients, with BNFL presumably hoping that the UK taxpayer would ultimately cover the costs of dumping these dangerous wastes in the UK."
BNFL's massive cost overruns in nearly all areas of its operations have led customers to view them "as highly unsatisfactory and make it impossible to manage our own fuel cycle business economically."
BNFL is also accused of preventing an assessment of its massive risks and costs from being completed by the international consultancy Price Waterhouse Coopers, despite demands from customers that such an assessment be conducted. It is further attacked by its customers as being potentially in breach of contract due to its continued failure to operate its 'flagship' THORP plutonium reprocessing plant, following continual shut-downs due to accidents, leaks and poor equipment.
The revelations are an acute embarrassment for Norman Askew and BNFL following its attempts to present its business future as being on firm ground. In recent weeks, the company has claimed that its controversial plutonium Sellafield MOX Plant, SMP, has secured sufficient business to justify the UK government granting it a license. Yet, less than 10% of their order book contains signed contracts.
The nuclear proliferation threat posed by MOX or plutonium fuel and the discharges and waste from the plant have, therefore, not been justified by any benefit.
"It is clear from these documents that BNFL's key clients remain deeply dissatisfied over how BNFL operates. They have accused it of deliberately blocking progress in negotiations, reneging on earlier agreements, and penalizing them with costs that go up continually," said Burnie. "Just as BNFL's reprocessing business is a financial and environmental disaster, so too is their economic approach to the MOX plant," Burnie continued. "Their future business prospects are bleak - they know it, their customers know it, and the British government needs to understand it. The mistake was made nearly ten years ago when Thorp was licensed. The same mistake should not be made over the Sellafield MOX plant," said Burnie.
In contrast to BNFL's secretive approach to its plutonium business (despite it being a wholly owned public company) Greenpeace, in the interest of the environment, public health and safety and nuclear non-proliferation has today established www.BritishNuclearFuels.com where the leaked documents and a background briefing on BNFL's reprocessing crisis can be found.
