Doc. 9337 2^nd edition

13 March 2002

Stop discharges from Sellafield !

Written Declaration No. 330

2^nd edition, originally tabled on 31 January 2002

This written declaration commits only the members who have signed it

      The undersigned, members of the Parliamentary Assembly, urge the British Government to immediately stop discharges into the sea from the nuclear plant Sellafield in north–west England. It is unacceptable to directly discharge considerable amounts of the long-lived radioactive element Technesium-99 into the marine environment, when the waste could be stored until a process to remove it is introduced. Many neighbouring states, such as Ireland and the Nordic countries, have protested strongly against this policy. We agree with the protesters.

      The British Environment Agency has proposed to continue to discharge Technesium-99 into the sea until 2006. The British Government will soon consider this proposal. This government decision will clearly affect not only the British, but our common marine environment.

      A precautionary approach is particularly important for long-lived and mobile synthetic radionuclides such as technetium, where many uncertainties exist in relation to their behaviour in the marine environment and possible pathways to man. Once discharged into the sea, the inventory of Technetium-99 is irreversibly dispersed and can no longer be managed or controlled, even if new knowledge should force us to reconsider the significance of technetium in the marine environment.

      The discharges from Sellafield must stop now.

Signed :

Høie, Norway, EPP/CD

Engeset, Norway, EPP/CD

Connor, Ireland, EPP/CD

Aguiar, Portugal, EPP/CD

Akselsen, Norway, SOC

Arnold, Denmark, LDR

Auken, Denmark, UEL

Azzolini, Italy, EPP/CD

Barbieri, Italy, EPP/CD

Bergqvist, Sweden, SOC

Blankenborg, Norway, SOC

Braun, Hungary, EPP/CD

Calner, Sweden, SOC

Cilevičs, Latvia, SOC

Daly, Ireland, LDR

Demetriou, Cyprus, EPP/CD

Díaz de Mera, Spain, EPP/CD

Duka–Zólyomi, Slovakia, EPP/CD

Einarsson, Sweden, UEL

Esch, Sweden, EPP/CD

Frimannsdóttir, Iceland, SOC

Gatterer, Austria, EPP/CD

Gentil, Switzerland, SOC

Gönül, Turkey, EPP/CD

Gross, Switzerland, SOC

Gubert, Italy, EPP/CD

Gustafsson, Sweden, EPP/CD

Himmer, Austria, EPP/CD

Kiely, Ireland, LDR

Kurucsai, Hungary, EPP/CD

Kvakkestad, Norway, EDG

Lekberg, Sweden, SOC

Magnusson, Sweden, SOC

Mikaelsson, Sweden, UEL

Mikkelsen, Denmark, SOC

Monsen, Norway, EDG

Naro, Italy, EPP/CD

Paegle, Latvia, EPP/CD

Patarkalishvili, Georgia, EPP/CD

Ragnarsdóttir, Iceland, EDG

Ringstad, Norway, LDR

Roseta, Portugal, EPP/CD

Sağlam, Turkey, EPP/CD

Skarbøvik, Norway, EPP/CD

Soendergaard, Denmark, UEL

Spindelegger, Austria, EPP/CD

Stoejberg, Denmark, LDR

Stoyanova, Bulgaria, EPP/CD

Tevdoradze, Georgia, EDG

Toshev, Bulgaria, EPP/CD

Tudor, Romania, EDG

Vella, Malta, EPP/CD

Vermot-Mangold, Switzerland, SOC

Yarygina, Russia, SOC

Enright, Ireland, EPP/CD ¹

____________________

Total = 55

¹        SOC: Socialist Group

      EPP/CD: Group of the European People’s Party

      EDG: European Democratic Group

      LDR : Liberal, Democratic and Reformers’ Group

      UEL: Group of the Unified European Left

      NR: not registered in a group