Paris, 10 July 1997
Greenpeace today welcomed the announcement by Dominique Voynet, the French
Environment Minister, that access to the area around the discharge-pipe of
La Hague reprocessing plant would be restricted. The decision to close the
area around the pipe to fishing and bathing follows the results of
independent analysis on samples from La Hague conducted by the Department
of Labour, Health and Social Services of the Federal State of Hamburg.
The analysis confirmed Greenpeace's warning that the effluent and sediment
samples are radioactive waste. According to the analysis of the German
Institute, the effluent contains up to 160 million becquerel of tritium per
litre. The measured plutonium concentration also classifies the sediments
as "waste containing nuclear fuel", and German law prohibits discharging
such waste at sea.
" The sea and the beach at La Hague are clearly being mistreated as a
nuclear waste dump" said Simon Carroll of Greenpeace International.
However, Greenpeace is concerned that radioactive discharges continue. "We
welcome this first vital step to protect public health, but now expect that
the authorities will protect the environment by stopping all discharges",
added Carroll.
La Hague's permission to discharge radioactive waste into the sea is
currently being re-evaluated, with a decision by French authorities
expected by September. Greenpeace urges the re-evaluation not to be rushed
and reiterates its demands for a full public environmental impact
assessment of all the operations at La Hague, including COGEMA's proposal
to scrap accumulated radioactive material from the inside of the pipe after
years of waste discharging.
The environmental organisation also welcomes the ratification by France of
the Convention for the protection of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR
Convention ) announced today. Greenpeace will seek that France acts in
accordance with its legal obligations under the Ospar Convention to take
"all possible steps to prevent and eliminate pollution "(1) of the marine
environment. end
For Further Information Please Contact:
Simon Carroll, Greenpeace International,
tel: +31 20 52 36 288
Remi Parmentier, Greenpeace International,
tel: +34 1 329 10 49
NOTE:
(1) Art. 2.1. (a) of the Ospar Convention