Thousands demonstrate nuclear waste shipment to German dump

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Link : http://uk.news.yahoo.com/041106/323/f63xp.html

DANNEBERG, Germany (AFP) - Thousands of anti-nuclear protestors gathered in northern Germany to protest at the imminent arrival of a shipment of highly radioactive waste from France to a German storage dump.

The estimated 5,500 protestors gathered as a train carrying 12 containers of nuclear waste prepared to leave the La Hague nuclear plant in northern France later on Saturday.

The material left the plant Saturday evening and was expected to cross the French-German border on Sunday and to reach the German town of Dannenberg 24 hours later, where the waste is expected to be loaded on to trucks to cover the last few kilometres to the Gorleben dump.

After demonstrating in Danneberg market square on Saturday, demonstrators gathered at the railway station, temporarily blocking the tracks to be used by the train.

More than 12,000 police were deployed last year for similar convoys in one of the largest security operations of its kind ever mounted in Germany.

No protests were expected in France.

Anti-nuclear and environmental campaigners say the shipments are dangerous and that the waste will contaminate the water table at Gorleben.

Germany, which has no treatment facilities of its own, sends spent fuel rods for reprocessing at the La Hague plant before they are returned here for storage.

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Tell France to make their own nuclear dumping sites for their own nuclear wastes. I don't blame the German protesters one bit for being upset.

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Well, Lady J, it's treated nuclear stuff, we at first have sent to France and now to take back again :wink:

The nuclear fuel debate has been a key political issue in Germany for more than two decades. About a quarter of our electricity (as far as I remember) comes from nuclear reactors, which generate hundreds of tonnes of radioactive waste a year. And between three and four times a year we get such major demonstrations.
(We get minor with Castor transport even at my place - they transport them via the railway line here.)

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Very good point, Walter. And thank you for letting me know that this is really not something new happening. God knows we definitely have more than a few nuclear power plants right here in California. Now you're making me think about where all of our waste is going. I just may have to call Ahnold on that one and find out first hand, ya think? Smile

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In our state, we have the only but one 'functioning' (a salt mine in the neighbouring state is 'working' as well - the same state, where the above mentioned place is situated) interim storage for nuclear waste.

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HIS categorie? Actually this belongs to General News or International News.

However ; at the matter nuclear reactors,

Quote:

Russian Nuclear Reactor Restarted

Russian officials on Saturday restarted a nuclear reactor that sparked widespread panic in southern Russia when it automatically shut down earlier this week.

After the shutdown, rumors immediately spread that there had been a major accident. Officals insisted there had been no radiation leakage from reactor No. 2 at the Balakovo nuclear power plant in the Saratov region.

The reactor, which was shut down Thursday because of a turbine malfunction, was restarted at 3:40 a.m. Saturday and was running normally, Russia's Rosenergoatom company said.

Hundreds of residents fled homes near the reactor, dozens of businesses temporarily shut down and pharmacy's sold out of iodine, Russia's Kommersant newspaper reported. Iodine can block absorption of radiation by shutting down the thyroid gland.

``The whole city lost their heads,'' Anna Vinogradova, head of Balakovo's Department of Environmental Protection, told Kommersant. ``All the telephone lines were busy. People were telling each other to drink vodka, take iodine and no matter what not to use public water.''

Sergei Kiriyenko, President Vladimir Putin's envoy to the Volga region, made a quick visit late Friday to the region, 560 miles southeast of Moscow, to try to calm fears. He inspected all four reactors at the power plant, including No. 2, Russian media reported.

``I am confident that there is no threat to people in Balakova, the Saratov region and moreover in neighboring regions,'' Kiriyenko said on Russian state television.

The former Soviet Union was the site of the world's worst nuclear accident when a reactor at the Chernobyl atomic plant in Ukraine exploded in April 1986. Families of station workers in the nearly company town were not informed about the accident for days and so couldn't take any precautions. Today the region where the fallout settled has high rates of thyroid cancer, an illness that can be caused by exposure to radiation.

Chernobyl was closed in 2000. Russia has 10 nuclear power plants with a total of 30 nuclear reactors.

Source

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Thok wrote:

HIS categorie? Actually this belongs to General News or International News.

Well, Col Man might have had a reason for posting that here - as well as you had one to refer to Russian reactors now on a topic about "demonstrations against nuclear waste shipment to a German dump" :wink:

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So I said "however". ;-)

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hi guys

please dont let me cause any trouble...
i cause enough as it is... Wink

if you think its more appropriate in general or international news is good to me.
get one of the mods to move it Smile

is fine by me..
i posted it here in the middle of a posting frenzy... im not the best at getting where to post right...
i usually find the mods move it if its inappropriately posted...
Very Happy

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got up Col?

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ive been up for a good while now J-B and im going to bed soon Wink

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French demonstrators temporary stopped the castor train. The train have already more than two hours delay.

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Accident on the way: The Castor train cut one demonstrator his two legs.

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Thok wrote:

French demonstrators temporary stopped the castor train. The train have already more than two hours delay.

Actually, the train has been stopped by two demonstrators close to Nancy at Laneuveville-devant-Nancy (Meurthe-et-Moselle), who were chained on the rails. There have been 15 demonstrators all together at that place.

Later, however, the train was stopped again close to Avricourt.
There, another demonstrater was chained on the rails.
The train rolled over both his legs, and he's now in hospital, where they fight for his life.

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Thanks, Thok!
(While writing the first response, the newstickker gave the second breaking news. And translation all from French to English last some time :wink:)

Thousands demonstrate nuclear waste shipment to German dump

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