Remembering the tragic consequences of the nuclear accidents and catastrophes in the last 25 years, such as Chernobyl, Ukraine, where tens of thousands of people died from the consequences and the disaster affected more than five million people; and the recent tragic events in Fukushima Japan, where the total number of victims will only be known in the future, once again it shows that nuclear energy remains the most dangerous energy form currently available. Nuclear energy is also the most expensive method of energy production and when something goes wrong, we put our environment at risk and pay with our lives and the lives of our children.
We do not have to rely on this high risk technology when we have safe, clean and sustainable alternatives at our disposal.
We are aware that the Lithuanian Minister of Energy, Mr. Arvidas Sekmokas, on October 11, 2011 submitted the official documentation regarding the construction plan of the new NPP in Lithuania (Visagina) to the European Union Energy Commissioner, Mr. Günther Oettinger. The submitted documentation means that the official conversations and coordination process with the European Union has started.
Despite the fact that Latvia and Estonia have expressed their support to Lithuanian government representatives regarding the new NPP in Lithuania (Visagina), the information is classified or concealed, and people are kept in the dark in all three Baltic Republics. They are not informed about the facts about how the possible NPP will affect their economy, political environment, human health and, last but not least, how well the Baltics and other nearest countries (Poland, Belarus, etc.) are prepared for a worst case scenario – an accident at the NPP.
The new NPP in Lithuania (Visagina) is planned to be built less than 20 km away from the Latvian border with the second most populous city (600-700,000 people) nearby, around 100 km from Lithuania’s biggest city Vilnius (with 800,000 inhabitants), 19 km away from the border of Belarus and around 200 km from its capital Minsk, 300km km away from the border of Poland and 300 km away from Estonia. The information must be public, transparent and available to anybody in the affected area!
The building site preparation in Lithuania might start already next year (in 2012); the actual building works of the NPP is set for 2014 and by 2020 the NPP is expected to be fully operational if everything goes according to the submitted project plan.
Belarus, one of the countries worst affected by the Chernobyl catastrophe, also plans to build a nuclear station in its territory. In 2016 they plan to complete the first power plant and the second in 2018.
In Finland, with two nuclear plants (Loviisa and Olkiluoto) already operating, the relevant contractor announced in October 2011 that it had chosen Pyhäjoki in northern Finland as the site for the countries third nuclear power plant. Construction is expected to start in 2015.
Thus, it is clear that the territories alongside the Baltic Sea are getting seriously threatened by nuclear power despite the fact that there are plenty of options for clean, safe, renewable and sustainable energy.
Taking into account that there is a strong desire to decrease the amount of working NPPs in Europe and to stop the construction of new ones, it is clear that alongside the issue of the nuclear power plant itself, there are also the radioactive storage issues. Hence even when the NPP is closed the storage warehouses remain hazardous. Thereby it is very imprudent to build new nuclear plants or reactors, as there are no safe ways back!
The whole of Europe was subjected to even greater risk with the announcement from Serbia that they have finished building “the biggest warehouse for nuclear and radioactive waste in Europe” (storage and processing of radioactive waste at a rate of over 3,000 cubic meters) in Vinca, only 14 km from the city of Belgrade, with two million inhabitants. We all know there is no risk-free solution for nuclear waste management.
The Parliament of Ukraine also recently adopted a law on the first hearing “On the management of spent nuclear fuel”, which suggests the construction of a nuclear storage warehouse near its capital city Kiev with almost three million inhabitants. Similarly to the Baltics, all the required accompanying documentation to the law is being kept confidential. Moreover, the rights of victims of the Chernobyl disaster are also being violated, as national authorities have refused to fulfil the social obligations established by Ukrainian and international legislation – guarantees of financial compensation (pensions and other benefits).
Bearing in mind that nuclear waste has to be occasionally relocated and that the process is very dangerous and expensive, and in order to protect the lives of millions of people, not only in the above mentioned countries, but in all of Europe.
The European Green Party calls upon the governments of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland and Belarus:
1. On the basis of the Aarhus Convention, and with the a view to complete transparency and the necessity of including citizens and non-governmental organisations in decision making about the environment and people’s health, to declassify all the information regarding the new NPP in Lithuania, Finland and Belarus, including the seismic indicators of the new NPP sites.
2.To open up and commit to an equal and public debate on the energy policy for the Baltic Sea region countries and neighbouring countries with both pro – and anti – nuclear experts.
3.To consider the possibility of building new alternative and sustainable energy supply sites in Baltic region countries.
The European Green party has the following demands for the Serbian and Ukrainian governments:
1. Public access to the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), with reference to the relevant institutions that conducted and approved the document.
2.Public participation in the process of creating the SEA.
3.Public listing of all significant impacts on the environment, especially those that can be harmful for the environment and people, along with protective measures.
4. Considering that warehouses mentioned above belong to the category of projects for which Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is compulsory, grant access to the EIA, as well as the list of public and scientific authorities familiar with SEA and EIA and their attitude, available and public.
5. To declassify all the information regarding the new nuclear waste storage warehouse law proposal, which is being processed in the Ukrainian government at the moment.
6.For the government of Ukraine to renew the social guaranties and compensation for victims of the Chernobyl disaster.
The European Green Party believes that the world should be nuclear-free. Therefore, we urge all the countries take into account its inhabitants’ constitutionally guaranteed rights, to live in a healthy and safe environment, listen to opinions and voices within their societies and start investing in much safer and cleaner energy resources.
Download the resolution in PDF format here...
