Environmentalists protest ahead of Turkish nuclear decision

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

Environmentalists protest ahead of Turkish nuclear decision

ISTANBUL, Feb 29 (Reuters) - Environmental activists wearing ``masks 
of death'' on Tuesday staged a lie-down protest on the eve of an 
expected Turkish government decision to award the first ever nuclear 
power plant. 

Police in riot gear rapidly carted off some 30 people chanting ``No 
to nuclear power plants'' who lay down in the middle of a busy 
Istanbul square. Many demonstrators wore yellow masks with a black 
skull and crossbones. 

Turkey has until Wednesday to award the multi-billion tender to build 
the plant on its southern coast. The project, delayed five times 
since bids were first collected in 1997, has been fraught with 
controversy. 

Environmentalists argue that it is unnecessary when Turkey has not 
explored any alternative energy sources, and that the proposed site 
of Akkuyu, on the Mediterranean coast, lies off an active earthquake 
fault line. 

But a housing ministry satellite survey map showed the region as one 
of the least earthquake prone areas in Turkey. 

Two devastating earthquakes ripped through northwest Turkey last 
year, killing more than 18,000 people and igniting a refinery blaze 
which threatened to spread out of control. 

Building the plant on the coast could also hurt tourism, an important 
source of income in the region, critics argue. 

But the government says Turkey will not be able to meet a projected 
growth in energy demand if the plant is not built. 

The three bidding consortia are lead by Westinghouse Electric Co., 
which is a unit of Britain's BNFL, Canada's AECL and French-German 
Nuclear Power International (NPI). 

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Sandy Perle					Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   				    	
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Personal Website:  http://www.geocities.com/scperle
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