reprocessing

Greenpeace today welcomed the news that British Energy, which manages most of the UK's nuclear power plants, has called for an end to nuclear reprocessing at British Nuclear Fuels' Sellafield plant

A leaked Nuclear Energy Agency report, released today by Greenpeace, contains key evidence which supports Denmark's international initiative to end nuclear reprocessing.

"The industry's own figures prove that Denmark is right to claim that ending reprocessing immediately at Sellafield and La Hague is feasible and would stop the main sources of nuclear pollution," said Greenpeace scientist Dr Helen Wallace, "It is a scandal that this report has been kept hidden for so long."

Swiss nuclear regulatory officials are today visiting British Nuclear Fuels Ltd's (BNFL) Sellafield site in north-west England, to check on safety data for nuclear fuel exported to Switzerland. 

The visit follows today's reported resignation of BNFL chief executive John Taylor, following the scandal surrounding the falsification of nuclear fuel safety data for plutonium uranium oxide (MOX) fuel sent to Japan and Germany. Switzerland is the only customer continuing to use BNFL MOX fuel.

Greenpeace nuclear campaigner Helen Wallace said, "BNFL's plutonium business is dangerous, polluting and unnecessary whoever is at the helm. A new captain alone cannot save a ship that is heading for the rocks. The Government must chart a new course for BNFL by ending Britain's plutonium trade for good."

18th February, 2000 - Greenpeace today urged the Government to end nuclear reprocessing and refuse BNFL permission to further commercially develop 'MOX' nuclear fuel following a series of highly critical reports into BNFL's Sellafield site, issued by the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII).

The three reports examined site safety at Sellafield, problems surrounding storage of high level radioactive waste on the site and BNFL's falsification of safety data for plutonium fuel (MOX) sent to Japan.

Arctic Sunrise - taking action against nuclear power

As BNFL's two armed plutonium ships arrived in Japan today, Greenpeace UK called on the Government to reject the company's application to open its new Sellafield MOX Plant (SMP).