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Australia Sends Spent Fuel to France
Under tight security and cover of night, Australian officials yesterday sent a shipment of spent nuclear fuel to France for reprocessing, Reuters reported (see GSN, Oct. 15). The Australian Nuclear Science Technology Organization, which manages Australia’s only nuclear facility, brought the shipment through Sydney with helicopter, mounted and motorized police escorts. The spent fuel was the country’s sixth radioactive shipment to France over the last four decades, Reuters reported. “Relevant local councils and stakeholders were informed prior to shipment. However, the exact route and timetable was not provided for obvious security reasons,” ANSTO acting Executive Director Ron Cameron said. In 1997, Australian lawmakers decided not to develop a domestic reprocessing facility and chose instead to send all spent fuel overseas for reprocessing (Reuters/Hindustan Times, Oct. 27). The 344 spent nuclear rods were loaded onto the French container ship Fret Moselle, which was surrounded by police craft and Greenpeace protesters. “These casks are vulnerable to terrorist attack,” said Greenpeace spokesman James Courtney. “I think that the federal government is downplaying the risk of terrorism when it suits them and playing it up when they want to use it to their advantage,” he added (BBC News, Oct. 28).
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