From: Greenpeace via Jym Dyer <jym@mica.berkeley.edu>
Newsgroups: misc.activism.progressive,alt.activism,talk.environment
Subject: NEWS: Radioactive Sand Proves Nuclear Reprocessing Unlawful
Followup-To: talk.environment
Date: 1 Sep 1992 22:11:13 GMT
Organization: The Naughty Peahen Party Line
NNTP-Posting-Host: remarque.berkeley.edu
Originator: jym@remarque.berkeley.edu

[Greenpeace Press Release from Greenbase -- Redistribute Freely]

RADIOACTIVE SAND FROM SELLAFIELD PROVES NUCLEAR REPROCESSING IS 
UNLAWFUL 
  
GERMANY, August 18, 1992 (GP) In an old bunker in the free port 
of Hamburg Greenpeace is today presenting to the press 
radioactive sand contaminated with plutonium. Sand from the shore 
in the area around the Sellafield reprocessing plant in England.  
Sand in which children play and families have their picnics.  
Many people have become ill with cancer in this region.  
Greenpeace took the sand as soil samples in May and June 1992. 
  A new reprocessing plant, THORP, as it is called, in which 
spent fuel rods from German nuclear power stations should 
also be reprocessed, is due to go into operation at 
Sellafield this autumn.  With THORP the total emissions from 
plants at Sellafield will increase by 1,000 per cent.  "The 
Ministers of the federal German states and the Federal 
Minister of the Environment will then be partly responsible for 
this scandal," says Roland Hipp, Greenpeace's expert in nuclear 
issues.  Up to 27.5 million curies of radioactivity will then be 
released annually.  This may be compared with 
the approximately 50 million curies which, according to 
official data, were released at Chernobyl during the 
accident. 
  The sand Greenpeace is today presenting to the press and 
media proves that reprocessing in England contradicts the 
German Atomic Energy Act.  This stipulates "harmless 
recycling" in keeping with "state-of-the-art science and 
technology".  Given these emissions and contamination there can 
be no talk of "harmless recycling".  The Environment 
Ministers of the states of Hamburg, Hesse, Lower Saxony and 
Schleswig Holstein have already published reports which 
clearly state that the Federal Minister of the Environment 
is violating current German law by his licensing 
reprocessing abroad.   
  Scientists from Bremen University conducting gamma- 
spectrometric analyses detected in the samples Greenpeace 
took at Sellafield in May up to 9,435 becquerels of caesium 137 
and 8,520 becquerels of americium 241 per kilogramme of earth.  
Their alpha-spectrometric analyses revealed up to 
6,747 becquerels of plutonium 239/40.  These analyses were 
made on the basis of the samples' weight when wet.  
Manchester University analyzed the June samples on the basis of 
their dry weight.  The results proved worse still - the 
scientists there detected concentrations of activity of up 
to 13,000 becquerels of caesium 137 and up to 27,000 
becquerels of americium 241 per kilogramme.  In their alpha- 
spectrometric analyses they found up to 10,800 becquerels of 
plutonium 239 in the dried sand.   
  "Given these alarming results and the legally untenable 
situation we demand of the Environment Minister, Mr. 
Toepfer, and the federal state Ministers responsible, that 
it be decided to withdraw from reprocessing immediately," 
says Roland Hipp.  In support of this Greenpeace is now 
starting a tour of all those responsible for the 
reprocessing throughout Germany.  The irradiating sand from 
Sellafield should support its arguments for withdrawal from 
reprocessing in the bodies concerned. 
Newsgroups: misc.activism.progressive