TRANSPORTATION OF NUCLEAR WASTES THROUGH DANISH TERRITORIAL WATERS

For the attention of: All members of the Committee

I would like to make a brief written submission to the Committee for it to seek further information from theCanadian Government, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, the Swedish Government, BrucePower and the Swedish company Studsvik about the upcoming series of highly radioactive wasteshipments that will commence shortly from the Bruce Power plant in Canada.These will see shipments of large and highly radioactive steam generators – containing significant levelsof isotopes such as Plutonium – from the Bruce Power plant, across the Great Lakes and the NorthAtlantic, which are passing by the Orkney Islands, the Norwegian coast, the Danish coast before theirdestination in Sweden for partial clean-up.Bruce Power has been given permission by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to start shippingthese wastes and the shipments are expected to begin within the next few weeks. The shipmentscontain radioactive materials at much higher ‘safe’ radioactive levels than IAEA shipping guidelinesrecommend and are of real concern to the UK and Ireland Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA) andother groups such as KIMO International, the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility, the Councilof Canadians and a large body of citizen groups across North America, the British Isles and Scandinavia.The NFLA urge the Danish Government and the Committee to attain information on these shipmentsurgently from the Canadian authorities and urgently consider banning them from Danish waters. TheNFLA have made the same request of the UK, Irish and Scottish Governments.You will be receiving separately a detailed submission on the shipments from Gordon Edwards, onbehalf of the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility, which the NFLA completely endorses. Asmembers of the OSPAR Committee, the Danish Government should also consider asking the OSPARRadioactive Substances Committee to consider these shipments in detail and advise the relevantmember governments accordingly of any concerns it has with them.I hope this letter can be tabled to all committee members and that the Committee can seriously considerthe deep concerns of a large number of international nuclear-concerned groups over these shipments.The NFLA urges the Committee to recommend to the Danish Government that such shipments getbanned from Danish territorial waters.Yours sincerely,