May - june 1999 Editorial
Open Letter (excerpt) to Birgitta Dahl, Speaker of
the Swedish Parliament
Paris,
7 July 1999
Honorable
Madame Speaker, Dear Birgitta Dahl,
On 8 December 1997, I told you, over lunch, that the Swedish utility
OKG had gone ahead with the separation of several hundred kilograms
of plutonium at the UK Sellafield site. You were stunned. (...)
In the 1980s you were instrumental in putting together Sweden's spent
fuel management policy based on direct storage rather than the development
of a plutonium economy. When I expressed my concern to you over the
OKG plan to return the plutonium in the form of MOX fuel and to use
it in Swedish reactors, you told me that while the plutonium separation
had happened outside the country - in a way beyond Swedish direct control
- this would be quite different if OKG intended to bring the fuel back
to the country. You made it very clear that you intended to make your
voice being heard on the issue.
Now
OKG has made a formal application into MOX fuel use at its reactor site.
(...) In parallel, SVAFO AB submitted an application for the reprocessing,
also at Sellafield, of 5 tons of spent fuel from the R1 reactor.
(...) A few days ago SKI made a positive recommendation to the government
concerning both of the projects. (...)
The Swedish government's decision to direct the Swedish plutonium to
the nuclear waste stream would be a strong signal to abandon further
plutonium separation and use - where ever. (...)
Thank you for your attention to this worthy problem. I'm looking forward
to your reply.
With my very best regards,
Mycle Schneider
Note to readers of Plutonium Investigation: You can find the
full text of the letter in the Our
News section of Plutonium Investigation
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