Radiation fear in Champagne region
Wednesday, 31 May 2006 08:33
Radiation fear in Champagne region
The famous vineyards in the Champagne region of France are contaminated by radioactivity from a nuclear waste dumpsite, environmental campaign group Greenpeace said yesterday.
Greenpeace said radioactive material had been found in underground water less than six miles from the vineyards.
The pressure group alleged the Centre Stockage l'Aube (CSA) waste dump, located in Soulaine, contains waste from Electricite de France (EdF) and AREVA, but also foreign nuclear waste illegally disposed of under French law.
Once full, the dump will be one of the largest in the world with over one million cubic metres of waste, including plutonium and other radionuclides, Greenpeace said.
The campaign group said it had written to the Champagne Producers Committee to warn them that their production risked contamination from the site.
Site operator, ANDRA, France's nuclear waste agency, has repeatedly said it would not release any radioactivity into the environment.
Shaun Burnie, nuclear campaigner at Greenpeace International, said: "The authorities know they have a problem in Champagne already, with mistakes in the design. This is only the beginning of the problem, the bigger picture is that France has a nuclear waste crisis out of control that is threatening not only the environment and public health but also the economy of the Champagne region."
Fred Marillier of Greenpeace France said Champagne producers faced "two nuclear timebombs", one at Soulaine and one planned at Bure.
"The wine producers in the Rhone region stood up to the nuclear state in France and won. The Champagne region needs to act fast before it's too late," he said.
The site receives a total of 4,000 terabequerels of tritium, more than three times the amount of tritium waste at another dumpsite in Normandy, according to Greenpeace estimates.
Separately, the French Senate votes today on what to do with the 35 million cubic feet of nuclear waste.
