Away with spent nuclear fuel!

Russia’s Green Peace is to hold the largest protest action of the year at the end of June. The press service of the Zashchita ecological organization reported that an international anti-nuclear protest will be organized between June 30 and July 6 in response to the government’s plans to import 20,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel. Ecological, law enforcement, and other public organizations are to take part in the action. Up to forty public organizations from different regions of Russia are expected to join in. The anti-nuclear protest will be organized in the Russian city of Krasnoyarsk, where Mining Chemical Enterprise and Russia’s largest depository of spent nuclear fuel are located. To this very depository imported spent nuclear fuel is supposed to be delivered.

Citizens of the region had no chance to voice their opinion via areferendum. In the town of Sosnovoborsk, situated near the Mining Chemical Enterprise, a mass protest meeting with the participation of 5,000 citizens was held in February. The people protested against the intention of the government to pollute the town were the environmental situation is already rather unfavorable.

The international protest is believed to attract about 200 people from different regions of Russia and from abroad. It is the first action of this kind against intention of Russia’s Ministry for Nuclear Power to import nuclear spent fuel legalized in 2001. Public organizations are going to work on further activities directed against the import of spent nuclear fuel in Russia.

Nastya Primakova PRAVDA.Ru

Translated by Maria Gousseva

Read the original in Russian: http://www.pravda.ru/north-west/2002/06/20/42894.html