Dounreay at the Nordic Council (1)
01 January 1991
Dounreay at the Nordic Council
artdoc June=1992
At the annual Nordic Council meeting, held in Helsinki, the
Norwegian environment minister, Mr Thorbjorn Bernsten, speaking
on behalf of the Nordic Ministers, said governments must be `both
blind and deaf' if they do not understand Nordic opposition to
Dounreay. Mr Bernsten was answering a question from Icelandic MP,
Mr Hjorleifur Guttormsson, about a German government working
group's discussion on using Dounreay to store and reprocess its
research reactor spent fuel. Mr Bernsten said Danish scientists
would monitor the matter and contact the German government if a
firm proposal is made. The Nordic Ministers also committed
themselves to opposing moves to relax rules on the dumping of
radioactive wastes at sea. In answer to a question by Danish MP,
Ms Brigitte Husmark, Iceland minister Mr Eidur Gudnason said some
countries were opposing tighter rules on radioactive waste
dumping at sea in negotiations on a new marine pollution
convention to replace the Oslo and Paris Conventions. Mr Gudnason
said the Nordic Governments would work for a ban on the dumping
of all radioactive wastes.
New Marine Convention
Negotiations for a new Convention, to replace the Oslo and Paris
Conventions, which regulate land-based and sea-based sources of
marine pollution in the North Sea and North Atlantic, are
reaching a crucial final phase. The new Convention is due to be
signed in Paris in November. In controlling land-based sources,
such as discharges from reprocessing plants, the new Convention
require the use of Best Available Technology and Best
Environmental Practice `including, where appropriate, Clean
Technology' and the application of the Precautionary Principle.
One of the areas of dispute is whether the new Convention
includes a ban on dumping low and medium level radioactive
wastes. The Nordic countries are committed to banning dumping,
as is Germany. The UK and France, however, take a different
stand. The UK position is to `keep this option open ... for bulky
items arising from decommissioning' where there is no alternative
available. The UK also argues dumping has `no significant adverse
effect on man or the environment.' (Letter to Greenpeace UK from
UK Government).
NENIG Briefing no 54, 1992
Statewatch, vol 2, no 3, May-June 1992