France to return German nuclear waste on Monday

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@EARTHLINK.NET>]

France to return German nuclear waste on Monday

  

PARIS, March 22 (Reuters) - France will start sending nuclear waste 

back to Germany on Monday after treatment in its reprocessing plant 

in La Hague, the state-owned reprocessing firm Cogema said on 

Thursday. 



"The departure is planned for 6:30 a.m. (0430 GMT) on Monday," a 

Cogema spokesman said in confirming the first return of reprocessed 

German nuclear waste material in about three years. 



According to French anti-nuclear groups, the train was due to take 

all of Monday to cross France and leave the border town of 

Lauterbourg at 11 p.m. (2100 GMT) to enter Germany south of 

Karlsruhe. 



German anti-nuclear activists have already begun protests against the 

planned shipment, temporarily occupying a watch tower last week at 

the nuclear waste dump in Gorleben, south of Hamburg, where the waste 

material is to be stored. 



Police expect thousands of demonstrators to try to block the 

transports. During the last transports, anti-nuclear activists 

protested along the route and police fought running battles with 

groups trying to block the arrival of the waste at Gorleben. 



The resumption of shipments has been a major headache for Germany's 

anti-nuclear Greens party, junior partner in Chancellor Gerhard 

Schroeder's coalition. 



With the transports expressly permitted under the long-term 

withdrawal from nuclear power negotiated last year by Greens 

Environment Minister Juergen Trittin, the environmentalist party has 

urged members to demonstrate peacefully. 



- ------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Director, Technical                             Extension 2306                                  

ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Service         Fax:(714) 668-3149                                          

ICN Pharmaceuticals, Inc.                       E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net                                                      

ICN Plaza, 3300 Hyland Avenue           E-Mail: sperle@icnpharm.com                       

Costa Mesa, CA 92626



Personal Website: http://sandyfl.nukeworker.net

ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com



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