Have the Finns gone completely mad?

Press Release - for immediate publication Friday, April 23rd, 2010


Finnish Governments Proposal for Two New Reactors: Crazy and Irresponsible Infotour will educate citizens about the nuclear threats around the Baltic Sea

On Wednesday the Finnish government announced that they will put a proposal to build two new nuclear reactors in Finland to the Finnish parliament: an additional plant at Olkiluoto in the Eurajoki region and a NPP for "Fennovoima", the German joint venture with several Finnish companies to establish a third nuclear site in Finland in addition to Olkiluoto and Loviisa. No-one but the nuclear industry needs more nuclear power plants in Finland. It's a shame that the Finnish authorities seem to be in bed with the nuclear companies.

Helsinki The Finnish government's incomprehensible decision to support further new reactors has met with harsh criticism from anti-nuclear activists across Europe and beyond. The government is obviously willing to sacrifice people's health and the environment to the nuclear industry's profits. Anti-nuclear groups around the Baltic Sea plan an information tour in the summer, to educate about the impacts of nuclear facilities on the environment and people living in the region and to raise the awareness of the dangers associated with nuclear power.

Campaigner and activist Falk Beyer: "It's a crazy and irresponsible position to ask for more nuclear power plants increasing the radioactive releases to the Baltic Sea and the risk of serious accidents. These reactors would also produce large quantities of nuclear waste - even though no safe solution for the long-term storage
of this waste is possible. The Scandinavian concept of final disposal is scandalous - to dump the toxic and radioactive waste by the sea, hoping that their artificial measurements could prevent the release of these dangerous materials is a gamble with the entire region's future."

An information tour about the affects of the nuclear power plants, waste repositories and uranium sites around the Baltic Sea will visit 13 cities in eight countries between June 22nd and August 21st. The tour will provide information about the radioactive contamination of the Baltic Sea in public information events, draw public attention to the dangers of nuclear power with street actions and strengthen the networks of anti-nuclear organizations and activists around the Baltic Sea through regional network gatherings.

The infotour "Stop Nuclear Power - Baltic Sea Info Tour 2010" will start on the Åland islands in Finland to emphasize the international awareness about the nuclear developments in this country. It will support the local anti-nuclear movements in their fight against a powerful global nuclear industry that attempt to push a so-called "Nuclear Renaissance" on the world by using Finland as an example. The anti-nuclear movements will make plain to the Finnish government that they have to expect strong resistance against their nuclear expansion.

"We will start the infotour in Finland at the end of the parliamentary season, before the politicians begin their summer break. And we will be back in Finland at the end of the 'Stop Nuclear Power - Baltic Sea

Info Tour' in late August to make sure that the anti-nuclear resistance is on the spot when the parliament starts working again. We won't let them have a break to force the nuclear threat on Finland."

The Baltic Sea is - according to the experts of the countries around it - the most radioactively polluted water body in the world. Besides the Chernobyl fallout and the releases from the Sellafield nuclear facility in the UK the nuclear power plants in Sweden, Finland and Russia are the most responsible polluters. The proposed new NPPs, uranium mining and final disposal sites will increase the radioactivity released to the Baltic Sea irresponsibly.

Details about the "Stop Nuclear Power - Baltic Sea Info Tour" are available at http://baltic-tour.nuclear-heritage.net . Background information about nuclear issues and resistance in several countries around the world is available on the website: http://nuclear-heritage.net/
Dear editor:

Contact us at media[AT]nuclear-heritage.net or call Falk Beyer at +358 41 7243254.

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This media release is provided by the "Nuclear Heritage Network". It is an international network of anti-nuclear activists. This informal alliance supports the worldwide anti-nuclear work. The Nuclear Heritage Network is no label, has no standard opinion and no representatives. All activists of the network speak for themselves or for the groups they represent.