Greenpeace has condemned the Government and British Nuclear Fuels for the introduction of plutonium into the controversial Sellafield MOX Plant (SMP) earlier today. The decision to proceed with loading of the lethal nuclear material will increase environmental pollution from the Sellafield site and increase international security risks, including nuclear terrorism and proliferation of nuclear weapons. Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth have mounted a range of legal challenges in an effort to prevent the plant from opening. The Irish Government currently has two international legal cases on-going against the UK government.(1)
"This is a major step backwards for the environment and international security. BNFL and the UK government clearly have little regard for either. The news of this act will be greeted with condemnation and incredulity in countries around the world opposed to the plutonium industry and BNFL in particular. The threat to their environment and public's health just got worse. Opposition will now grow even stronger against this uneconomic, dirty and dangerous business," said Mark Johnston of Greenpeace UK.
In total around 2-3,000kg of plutonium could be loaded into the Sellafield MOX Plant during the next 12 months, if BNFL is successful in operating the plant. This is sufficient plutonium for as many as 600 nuclear weapons. Full-scale operation of the plant after the second or third year would see up to 5,000kg of plutonium loaded each year. However, Greenpeace believe that BNFL will experience considerable problems in operating the MOX plant successfully. Due to poor design and inherent problems with plutonium fuel, it is certain that the plant will produce MOX fuel that is below high quality control standards, increasing the risk of nuclear accident for any reactor using the fuel.(2)
It is expected that BNFL will first produce MOX fuel for the Swiss client NOK, and its Beznau nuclear reactor, to be followed by MOX fuel for German clients. The MOX will be either shipped by sea or flown out of the UK to the continent. Due to major opposition in Japan to MOX fuel use and other factors, BNFL has not secured any contracts with Japanese utilities.
"While the successful operation of the MOX plant is highly uncertain, what is clear is that BNFL and the UK government will continue to be embroiled in scandals, nuclear accidents, as well as international legal challenges to their irresponsible behaviour. The plant's operation may be very short-lived," said Johnston.
In a move that exposes the flawed economic thinking behind the Sellafield MOX Plant, the UK government announced only two weeks ago that the plant, as well as the reprocessing plant THORP, would be taken under the control of a new government body, the Liabilities Management Authority (LMA). Rather than being a large income earner for the UK, the SMP instead will be managed as a liability with poor financial prospects, and no chance of recovering the costs of the plant's construction (the UK government wrote off the costs amounting to over UK470 million). In total BNFL have signed contracts for only 11% of the plant's capacity, and still face the major hurdle of operating the plant successfully.
For further information:
Mark Johnston - Greenpeace UK - mobile 079 7331 9249
Shaun Burnie - Greenpeace International +44 (0)1557 814 288
Greenpeace UK Press Office 020 7865 8255
Notes to editors:
- International arbitration hearings are expected to open in the International Court of Justice in the Hague under the OSPAR (Oslo-Paris Commission) early in 2002. The Irish government claims the UK has failed to provide sufficient data on the economic, safety and security issues in relation to the SMP. A separate arbitration process under the auspices of the United Nations International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea is also due to begin in early 2002. In this case the UK government stands accused of breaching articles of the Law of the Sea in approving the operation of the Sellafield MOX Plant. A successful ruling in this case could force the MOX plant to be closed.
- BNFL was at the centre of a MOX quality control (QC) scandal during 1999-2000 when it was revealed that for five years they had deliberately violated QC procedures for German, Swiss and Japanese clients, passing fuel that should have failed. Greenpeace analysis has revealed that MOX fuel standards are generally low, with major problems in producing MOX fuel to a high standard. For further information see, www.britishnuclearfuels.com, a Greenpeace International website.
