Brussels, 04/11/2010 (Agence Europe) - The draft directive to set up a legally binding common framework for long-term storage of nuclear energy waste from nuclear power stations and radioactive waste from medical and research initiatives has been welcomed by the nuclear industry lobby (FORATOM). The European Commission put this directive on the table on 3 November but it has been denounced by the Greens and Greenpeace, which see it as nothing more than a public relations exercise.
Rebecca Harms MEP (Greens) said: “Nobody should be taken in by this; these proposals fail to address the core issues and citizens' concerns on dealing with dangerous nuclear waste”. She criticised this initiative as an attempt to provide “a veneer of legitimacy to the revival that the nuclear industry continues to hope for”. Harms was particularly critical of the fact that “the proposals are far too loose, giving member states a free hand to determine what can be considered as nuclear waste and allowing them to exclude a wide array of potentially dangerous materials”. The German MEP also regretted that “the crucial question of financial liability is also left unresolved, despite the fact that a number of member states have weak or non-existent provisions on how to handle the huge financial burden of dealing with nuclear waste”
Greenpeace was also very critical and pointed out in a press release that “it would take an engineering genius to safely bury white hot, highly dangerous nuclear waste deep underground for longer than mankind has been on the planet. There are gaps in the science and no disposal site currently exists, yet the Commission is claiming this is a proven method”. Greenpeace concluded that “this is little more than a PR exercise to try and persuade Europeans that the question of waste can be dealt with”. (E.H./transl.fl)