Greenpeace is urging the UK and other countries to adopt a new draft treaty to control and outlaw fissile materials - the essential materials for nuclear weapons. The draft treaty text will be presented to the UK and other ambassadors attending the United Nation's Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT) meeting in New York today (4th May).
If agreed, Greenpeace's draft treaty ("Banning the Production of Fissile Materials for Nuclear Weapons and Other Nuclear Explosive Devices") would provide an international mechanism for securing stocks of civil and military plutonium and uranium to prevent their use or trade. This would be a major step towards averting further nuclear weapons proliferation (1).
A treaty banning fissile materials was first recommended by a UN General Assembly resolution (48/75L) on 16 December 1993, however no progress has been made on negotiations to date. The Greenpeace draft treaty would oblige countries to:
- undertake not to separate or process weapons useable plutonium or highly enriched uranium;
- submit all existing stocks of weapons usable fissile materials and all relevant facilities to international verification and control;
- commit not to supply weapons useable fissile materials to any other State or permit the export or transit of them through their territory;
- shut down all facilities that have been used or could be used for production, separation or processing of weapons usable fissile materials;
- commit to not building any new production, separation or processing facilities and;
- submit all nuclear storage facilities to international verification.
Greenpeace is also calling on the UK government to take immediate steps on national stockpiles of fissile materials. These include:
- Directing the proposed Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) to treat all existing stocks of plutonium and uranium as wastes and immobilise them as soon as possible (the NDA will take control of civilian stocks of plutonium and uranium from BNFL when it is formally established in April 2005).
- Adopting proposals (2) to use the Sellafield MOX (mixed uranium-plutonium fuel) plant to immobilise plutonium. This would also mean the MOX plant was not available to produce MOX fuel for UK or overseas utilities - thus providing another measure of non-proliferation. This could create a positive role for the £470 million plant, which has yet to produce any of the controversial fuel, which nuclear experts believe could be used to make a nuclear device.
Greenpeace nuclear campaigner Jean McSorley said, "If Tony Blair wants to be remembered for one thing, it should be as the Prime Minister who took the initiative and turned the tide on proliferation. Using UK technology and know-how to stop the production and use of weapons usable nuclear materials is an essential part of the legacy he should choose."
She added, "Most importantly, it would allow the UK to seize the initiative on the global proliferation debate and significantly increase international security measures."
It is estimated that if a "business as usual" approach is taken, the resulting stockpile of separated plutonium held in the UK would reach 142 tonnes by 2012 (3).
Only 2-8 kgs of plutonium-239 (depending on the enrichment levels) is needed to make a nuclear weapon. That means Britain is holding enough civil plutonium to make anywhere between 17,750 and 71,000 nuclear weapons.
However Greenpeace warned the government that adopting the treaty text by itself is just a first step towards kick-starting the stalled nuclear disarmament process.
Jean McSorley said, "The UK and other countries that hold nuclear weapons stockpiles, in direct contravention of their legally binding obligations under the NPT to disarm, must make moves now towards disarmament, or their attempts to prevent their spread to other countries will have absolutely no credibility or effect."
She added, "Tony Blair has said that WMD are a major threat to the world and he was prepared to go to war to prevent their development and use by Iraq. Yet at the same time UK nuclear weapons continue to be deployed. Even worse, the Government is considering replacing the current Trident warhead system. It's small wonder Blair has been called a hypocrite on this issue."
Editor's notes:
(1) Greenpeace International's Comprehensive Fissile Material Treaty was drafted by external experts with legal and nuclear weapons/fissile material background, and Greenpeace staff, and is available at www.greenpeace.org. Together with a background briefing that summarises the last 60 years of efforts to negotiate controls and a Treaty on fissile materials.
(2) Recommended in the BNFL National Stakeholder Dialogue Plutonium Working Group report (Environment Council March 2003).
(3) Source: Environment Council report March 2003.
Of the 142 estimated holding the breakdown of ownership is:
BNFL - 77
Other UK (e.g. British Energy) - 27
Overseas customers - 37
For more information contact Greenpeace press office on 020 7865 8255.
