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Australia ships nuclear waste to France
Sydney, Oct 27: Amid protests and under cover of darkness, Australia dispatched a load of used nuclear fuel to France early today in the first overseas shipment of Australian radioactive waste in two years.
Sydney, Oct 27: Amid protests and under cover of
darkness, Australia dispatched a load of used nuclear fuel to
France early today in the first overseas shipment of
Australian radioactive waste in two years.
A convoy of five trucks carrying 344 spent nuclear
fuel rods crossed suburban Sydney under heavy police guard
before dawn and loaded the waste aboard the French ship fret
Moselle, which quickly departed, officials said.
It was the first shipment of waste from Sydney's Lucas Heights nuclear reactor to reprocessing centres in France since January 2001.
Activists from the environmental group Greenpeace circled the Fret Moselle in inflatable boats to protest the shipment, but did not attempt to block the vessel, a spokesman for the group said.
"It was a bizarre event to be unfolding while most of Sydney slept," said Danny Kennedy.
"There were five large trucks with containers on the back of them, each of them containing caskets that hold the spent fuel rods from Lucas Heights," he said.
The convoy was protected by police and emergency vehicles, motorcycles and helicopters in a major security operation "probably bigger than anything Sydney's ever seen," Kennedy said.
The Fret Moselle left port shortly before dawn and Greenpeace said it was likely to spark further protests en route to France either through the Pacific or via the Indian Ocean.
Bureau Report
It was the first shipment of waste from Sydney's Lucas Heights nuclear reactor to reprocessing centres in France since January 2001.
Activists from the environmental group Greenpeace circled the Fret Moselle in inflatable boats to protest the shipment, but did not attempt to block the vessel, a spokesman for the group said.
"It was a bizarre event to be unfolding while most of Sydney slept," said Danny Kennedy.
"There were five large trucks with containers on the back of them, each of them containing caskets that hold the spent fuel rods from Lucas Heights," he said.
The convoy was protected by police and emergency vehicles, motorcycles and helicopters in a major security operation "probably bigger than anything Sydney's ever seen," Kennedy said.
The Fret Moselle left port shortly before dawn and Greenpeace said it was likely to spark further protests en route to France either through the Pacific or via the Indian Ocean.
Bureau Report