German Nuclear Shipments Resuming

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

Wednesday January 26 1:41 PM ET 

German Nuclear Shipments Resuming  

BERLIN (AP) - Germany will resume transports of highly radioactive 
waste from nuclear power plants after a nearly two-year ban triggered 
by safety concerns, the government said Wednesday.  

The nuclear safety agency announced it had approved shipments from 
three power plants to a temporary storage site at Ahaus near the 
Dutch border after safety rules were tightened.  

The rail transports have been a focal point for German anti-nuclear 
protesters for years, often triggering clashes with police escorting 
the sealed containers.  

Some of the waste will travel about 250 miles from Neckarwestheim in 
southwestern Germany. Transports aren't expected to resume until 
August because of lengthy approval procedures, officials said.  

The previous German government suspended the transports in May 1998 
after radioactive contamination beyond legal levels was detected on 
the outside of the containers.  

Since then, waste has been piling up in limited storage sites at 
Germany's 19 nuclear plants, some of which are threatened with 
closure unless transports resume this year.  

The transports have been a contentious issue in the government's 
negotiations with the energy industry on weaning Germany off nuclear 
power.  

Environment Minister Juergen Trittin, a member of the Greens party, 
issued a statement Wednesday warning operators that demonstrations 
could heat up again unless they join in sincere talks to phase out 
nuclear energy.  

German nuclear power operators have contracts with nuclear waste 
reprocessing plants in Britain and France, and Trittin had sought a 
permanent ban on waste exports by Jan. 1. But Chancellor Gerhard 
Schroeder overruled Trittin after an outcry from the operators and 
threats from London and Paris to seek compensation if the lucrative 
contracts were canceled.  

The Federal Radiation Safety Office in Berlin said it had approved 
the transport of the waste from nuclear plants at Biblis, 
Neckarwestheim and Philippsburg, all in western Germany.  

Greenpeace, the environmental group, was quick to criticize the 
decision.  

``It is irresponsible that the interests of the nuclear industry take 
precedence over the safety of railway workers, police and those 
living near the rail routes,'' spokeswoman Susanne Ochse said. 

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Sandy Perle					Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   				    	
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