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PLUTONIUM CONTAMINATION ACCIDENT AT FRENCH NUCLEAR FACILITY – GREENPEACE DEMANDS HALT TO U.S SHIPMENT PLANS
2004 September 10 th Paris…
An accident at a plutonium fuel facility in France should lead to the cancellation of plans to ship weapons-grade plutonium from the United States next week, Greenpeace stated today. The accident occurred at the ‘ATPu' plutonium fuel (MOX) manufacturing plant at the Cadarache nuclear complex in the South of France. Two workers were contaminated when a container of plutonium and uranium leaked the nuclear material into the room they were working in. CEA has admitted that the accident was due to a violation of procedures, and is trying to decontaminate the building as well as running urgent health checks on the two workers.
The facility is operated by AREVA/Cogema and the CEA (Atomic Energy Commission) and has had many problems over the years of operation. The accident at the ATPU facility comes immediately before a shipment of U.S. military plutonium that is due to leave the port of Charleston, South Carolina next week. Two British nuclear freighters are currently heading for the east coast port and are due to arrive around September 15 th . The AtPu will be used for three months to manufacture MOX fuel before shipping it back to the United States.
“This accident in addition to exposing the workers to danger, exposes risks of producing dangerous plutonium MOX fuel. There are many reasons why the United States should not send its plutonium to France next week – but this accident demands an immediate end to U.S. plans. It also requires full disclosure by French nuclear safety authorities and industry on what exactly happened,” said Shaun Burnie of Greenpeace International/Yannick Rousselet Greenpeace France.
Greenpeace will request expertise from the nuclear consultancy WISE-Paris in France to analyse this accident, currently described as level 1 on the international accident scale (INES). WISE-Paris has researched ATPu many years warning of the poor safety standards and blurry application of licensing regulations
Greenpeace is working to oppose the shipment, and stop the production of MOX fuel
More:
US Mox "Lead Test Assembly" Controversy : Fabrication at Cadarache, France - PDF
U.S MOX "Lead Test Assembly" Controversy: Fabrication at Cadarache, France - If too dangerous for European fuel, why just right for U.S. weapons plutonium?
Briefing for Greenpeace International.
WISE-Paris, 30 July 2003, version 1 - File in PDF format (16 p., 325 Ko)
http://www.wise-paris.org/english/ourbriefings_pdf/030729BriefLTA.env1b.pdfPlutonium Investigation , "Special Cadarache", no. 20, April-May 2001.
http://www.wise-paris.org/english/ournewsletter/20/contents.htmlATPu (Plutonium Technology Facility) at Cadarache
WISE-Paris, 21 August 2000, version 4 - File in PDF format (11 p., 72 Ko)
http://www.wise-paris.org/english/ourbriefings_pdf/000821BriefCAD1v4.pdf
Annexes (only in French) : File in PDF format (12 p., 843 Ko)
http://www.wise-paris.org/francais/nosbriefings_pdf/AnnexesBriefCAD1v3.pdf
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