Sellafield: MOX Blockade
international |
environment |
feature 
Friday December 21, 2001 21:47
by IMC Editorial Group - IMC Ireland
80 Irish activists blocked
the main entrance to Sellafield nuclear power plant on the first day of MOX operation, delaying the transit of trucks carrying the highly radioactive nuclear waste product, plutonium. Despite heavy police presence no arrests were made. MOX was given the go ahead by BNFL safety
inspectors while the UK government sought to
bury the MOX news under blanket media war coverage. The blockade comes in the wake of a BNFL-confirmed fuel rod handling
accident
in Chapelcross reactor earlier in the year.
See full report
of the december 20th blockade, and an earlier protest in November.
Meanwhile Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace were absent due to their taking the UK government to the High
court. The Irish government also served legal
documents on the UK government, claiming they have contravened the UN Law of the Sea. In Norway people and government alike have called for
decommissioning
and placed a sculpture
on the beach overlooking the discharge pipe - see photo.
Sign the online petition to close Sellafield.
What is MOX? see Greenpeace's detailed analysis
of the Nuclear industry
Download .mpg videos of the December 20th blockade