Press release 30 September 2010
On Monday 27 September, the French Nuclear Phase out Network "Sortir du nucléaire" received internal EDF documents, showing that the design and manufacture of the vessel closure head for the EPR in Flamanville could lead to a Tchernobyl-type accident.
Worse still, according to a memo written by the Head of nuclear fuel from EDF in 2001 (1), a Tchernobyl-type accident is possible on all French nuclear reactors. The EPR is also concerned.
Several EDF documents show that the number of welds and the type of steel used in some parts of the reactor vessel at Flamanville EPR may cause leaks. EDF considers that the leaks may, in turn, degenerate into a Tchernobyl-type accident. This type of steel and welds are part of the emergency shutdown system of the EPR and cover 89 points of entry into the reactor vessel.
EDF documents received by the network "Sortir du nucléaire" demonstrate that EDF engineers have designed parts of the vessel closure head for the EPR that not only endanger safety but also knowingly violate French law (2) relating to nuclear facilities under pressure.
For the Network "Sortir du nucléaire", the conclusion is obvious: in spite of all these issues, EDF persists in a policy that sacrifices security for profits! In view of the catastrophic consequences of an accident, this attitude is unimaginable and unforgivable.
Design flaws, increased toxicity of waste, untested technology, vulnerability to attacks (or even cyber-terrorism) ... Before the submission by EDF of a safety report for Flamanville the network "Sortir du nucléaire" wishes to remind everyone about all the problems with this reactor. In France, Finland and elsewhere, it is urgent to put an end to the EPR program and initiate the transition towards a future without nuclear power.
Link to EDF documentation and our detailed analysis (all in french): http://www.sortirdunucleaire.org/dossiers/EPR-revelations2.html
More information about all the problems of the EPR:
http://www.sortirdunucleaire.org/dossiers/EPR.html
Press Contact
Steven Mitchell: +33 952 495 022
[1] Management Activities of Hearts Physics and Fuels, SEPTEN, Andre Berthet (20.12.2001).
[2] violations of the decree of 12 December 2005 on nuclear pressure equipment.
Powered by ENERCOOP the only French green energy supplier guaranteed to be Nuclear Free
Live for today, dream of tomorrow and learn from yesterday
Wednesday, 13 October 2010
Monday, 11 October 2010
Saturday, 9 October 2010
Greenpeace delivers radioactive waste to the door of the European Parliament
Greenpeace delivered radioactive waste to the door of the European Parliament today to remind MEPs in their last plenary session before considering a new nuclear waste law that there is no solution to nuclear waste. Two qualified Greenpeace radiation specialists delivered four radioactive samples in two concrete and lead-lined containers to Parliament’s twin entrances on Rue Wiertz. Dozens of trained Greenpeace volunteers zoned off areas with tape before handcuffing themselves in rings around the containers to ensure their safety. MEPs and staff looked on as Greenpeace climbers scaled 16 nearby flagpoles to hold out banners reading ‘Nuclear waste, no solution’ below the flags of those countries with nuclear energy programmes producing the largest amounts of nuclear waste.
Greenpeace European Unit 7th Oct 2010
http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/greenpeace-takes-radioactive-w
Business Week 7th Oct 2010
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9IMQ9QG0.htm
An international scandal came to the steps of the European Parliament today as Greenpeace delivered four consignments of nuclear waste to MEPs. The waste is harmful and exceeds European environmental limits.
It and other more harmful radioactive wastes produced by Europe’s nuclear reactors will pose a deadly threat to its citizens and environment for hundreds of thousands of years to come. A solution to this problem has evaded scientists ever since the invention of nuclear power 60 years ago. Hundreds of thousands of tonnes of high-level nuclear waste litter the globe and yet we are no nearer to properly safeguarding it to protect ourselves and future generations.
Greenpeace Nuclear Reaction 7th Oct 2010
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/nuclear-reaction/nuclear-scandal-comes-to-the-european-parliam/blog/26595
Greenpeace European Unit 7th Oct 2010
http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/greenpeace-takes-radioactive-w
Business Week 7th Oct 2010
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9IMQ9QG0.htm
An international scandal came to the steps of the European Parliament today as Greenpeace delivered four consignments of nuclear waste to MEPs. The waste is harmful and exceeds European environmental limits.
It and other more harmful radioactive wastes produced by Europe’s nuclear reactors will pose a deadly threat to its citizens and environment for hundreds of thousands of years to come. A solution to this problem has evaded scientists ever since the invention of nuclear power 60 years ago. Hundreds of thousands of tonnes of high-level nuclear waste litter the globe and yet we are no nearer to properly safeguarding it to protect ourselves and future generations.
Greenpeace Nuclear Reaction 7th Oct 2010
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/nuclear-reaction/nuclear-scandal-comes-to-the-european-parliam/blog/26595
Tuesday, 5 October 2010
Anti-nuclear campaigners blockade EDF's Hinkley Point nuclear power plant
Since 7am this morning, anti-nuclear campaigners from different anti-nuclear groups which are part of the Stop Nuclear Power Network [1] are blockading the access road to EDF's Hinkley Point nuclear power
station in protest against EDF's plans for nuclear new build and what they are calling a flawed consultation.
Dressed in badger costumes, and locked on across the only access road to Hinkley Point nuclear power station, the activists protest against a flawed EDF consultation for a new Hinkley Point C nuclear power station, which ends today. "This EDF-led consultation is a con" says Mell, a teacher from Suffolk "While it is good to involve the local community, the main question - whether a new nuclear power station should be built or not - is not part of the consultation. What kind of democracy is this if the most important question - whether we want to expose ourselves and coming generations to nuclear danger and radioactive waste - is not part of the consultation?".
Even before EDF has secured planning permission for Hinkley Point C, the company wants to begin with 'enabling works', which has upset the local community. Nikki, a Bridgwater Mum said: "From this autumn on, EDF wants to dynamite and bulldoze 435 acre of green fields - habitats for badgers, bats, and other wildlife, and in close proximity to Bridgwater Bay, which is a sanctuary for thousands of waders, ducks, and other sea birds. It is a joke to think this land could be restored - as EDF claims - should Hinkley C not be built."[2]
"To resist EDF's plans for nuclear expansion, not only here at Hinkley Point, but also at Sizewell, Bradwell, Hartlepool, and Heysham, we call for a boycott of EDF [3]. EDF might try to greenwash itself, but however
hard they try, EDF still stands for nuclear power, and here in Hinkley Point also for Eagerly Destroying Fields. As consumers, we have the power to make our opinion known by boycotting EDF, but also by taking nonviolent direct action. If EDF wants to nuke the climate and the planet, the nonviolent resistance is not just an option, but a duty - at Sizewell, and here at Hinkley Point" [4], says Nicola Deane from Suffolk.
Notes for journalists
[1] The Stop Nuclear Power Network is a UK-based non-hierarchical grassroots network of groups and individuals taking action against nuclear power and its expansion and supporting sustainable alternatives. We
encourage and seek to facilitate nonviolent direct action, as well as more conventional forms of campaigning. For more information see
http://stopnuclearpoweruk.net/
[2] See Stop Hinkley's press release from 13 August 2010: EdF to dynamite and bulldoze Hinkley 44 acre greenfield site,
http://stophinkley.org/PressReleases/pr100813.htm
[3] For more information on the campaign to boycott EDF, see
http://boycottedf.org.uk/
[4] Some of the activists involved in today's blockade also blockaded Sizewell nuclear power station in Suffolk on 22 February 2010. See
http://stopnuclearpower.blogspot.com/2010/02/local-democracy-dumped-sizewell- nuclear.html
[5] Recently leaked documents of EDF show that the reactor technology chosen for Hinkley Point C is all but safe, and that a Chernobyl style catastrophe is possible. See Réseau "Sortir du nucléaire": EXCLUSIVE:
Confidential EDF documents show serious accident risks with the EPR reactor, 30 September 2010,
http://www.sortirdunucleaire.org/index.php?menu=english&sousmenu=presse&page=index#
station in protest against EDF's plans for nuclear new build and what they are calling a flawed consultation.
Dressed in badger costumes, and locked on across the only access road to Hinkley Point nuclear power station, the activists protest against a flawed EDF consultation for a new Hinkley Point C nuclear power station, which ends today. "This EDF-led consultation is a con" says Mell, a teacher from Suffolk "While it is good to involve the local community, the main question - whether a new nuclear power station should be built or not - is not part of the consultation. What kind of democracy is this if the most important question - whether we want to expose ourselves and coming generations to nuclear danger and radioactive waste - is not part of the consultation?".
Even before EDF has secured planning permission for Hinkley Point C, the company wants to begin with 'enabling works', which has upset the local community. Nikki, a Bridgwater Mum said: "From this autumn on, EDF wants to dynamite and bulldoze 435 acre of green fields - habitats for badgers, bats, and other wildlife, and in close proximity to Bridgwater Bay, which is a sanctuary for thousands of waders, ducks, and other sea birds. It is a joke to think this land could be restored - as EDF claims - should Hinkley C not be built."[2]
"To resist EDF's plans for nuclear expansion, not only here at Hinkley Point, but also at Sizewell, Bradwell, Hartlepool, and Heysham, we call for a boycott of EDF [3]. EDF might try to greenwash itself, but however
hard they try, EDF still stands for nuclear power, and here in Hinkley Point also for Eagerly Destroying Fields. As consumers, we have the power to make our opinion known by boycotting EDF, but also by taking nonviolent direct action. If EDF wants to nuke the climate and the planet, the nonviolent resistance is not just an option, but a duty - at Sizewell, and here at Hinkley Point" [4], says Nicola Deane from Suffolk.
Notes for journalists
[1] The Stop Nuclear Power Network is a UK-based non-hierarchical grassroots network of groups and individuals taking action against nuclear power and its expansion and supporting sustainable alternatives. We
encourage and seek to facilitate nonviolent direct action, as well as more conventional forms of campaigning. For more information see
http://stopnuclearpoweruk.net/
[2] See Stop Hinkley's press release from 13 August 2010: EdF to dynamite and bulldoze Hinkley 44 acre greenfield site,
http://stophinkley.org/PressReleases/pr100813.htm
[3] For more information on the campaign to boycott EDF, see
http://boycottedf.org.uk/
[4] Some of the activists involved in today's blockade also blockaded Sizewell nuclear power station in Suffolk on 22 February 2010. See
http://stopnuclearpower.blogspot.com/2010/02/local-democracy-dumped-sizewell- nuclear.html
[5] Recently leaked documents of EDF show that the reactor technology chosen for Hinkley Point C is all but safe, and that a Chernobyl style catastrophe is possible. See Réseau "Sortir du nucléaire": EXCLUSIVE:
Confidential EDF documents show serious accident risks with the EPR reactor, 30 September 2010,
http://www.sortirdunucleaire.org/index.php?menu=english&sousmenu=presse&page=index#
Friday, 1 October 2010
Spanish protest against nuclear waste storage
Several sites were proposed in the past for the storage of nuclear waste, the latest being Zarra, in the province of Valencia, near Albacete. About 1,500 people took part in the a protest against this.
According to one report, the police arrested 16 activists, including the mayor and 15 local citizens of the town/village of Ayora today.
http://www.levante-emv.com/comunitat-valenciana/2010/09/28/detenidos-vecinos-ayora-protestas-tc/742890.html)
According to another Spanish language news report, 20 local activists from Albacete have been charged with traffic offences, civil disobedience, and public order offences for last weeks actions, which includes a blockade of the A31 between Alicante and Madrid
http://www.abc.es/agencias/noticia.asp?noticia=533504).
According to the same report, about 100 people are being investigated, and 25 were detained.
http://www.latribunadealbacete.es/noticia.cfm/Provincia/20100923/plataforma/atc/zarra/corto/paseo/castellana/4CD29371-D89E-F16F-DC027E65377DD01D), organised by the "Plataforma contra el ATC de Zarra".
About 300 people demonstrated today in Valencia in solidarity with those accused http://www.que.es/valencia/201009281743-unas-personas-concentran-ayora-solidaridad-epi.html
According to one report, the police arrested 16 activists, including the mayor and 15 local citizens of the town/village of Ayora today.
http://www.levante-emv.com/comunitat-valenciana/2010/09/28/detenidos-vecinos-ayora-protestas-tc/742890.html)
According to another Spanish language news report, 20 local activists from Albacete have been charged with traffic offences, civil disobedience, and public order offences for last weeks actions, which includes a blockade of the A31 between Alicante and Madrid
http://www.abc.es/agencias/noticia.asp?noticia=533504).
According to the same report, about 100 people are being investigated, and 25 were detained.
http://www.latribunadealbacete.es/noticia.cfm/Provincia/20100923/plataforma/atc/zarra/corto/paseo/castellana/4CD29371-D89E-F16F-DC027E65377DD01D), organised by the "Plataforma contra el ATC de Zarra".
About 300 people demonstrated today in Valencia in solidarity with those accused http://www.que.es/valencia/201009281743-unas-personas-concentran-ayora-solidaridad-epi.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)