GREENPEACE CELEBRATES VICTORY IN SPAIN

[Anonymous]

Greenpeace celebrates victory as Spain’ s oldest nuclear power plant is shut down

Environmental groups called on Spanish government to phase out nuclear power

Madrid, 1^st May
2006 -Greenpeace is celebrating the permanent shutdown of Spain’s
oldest nuclear
power station, which was finally closed yesterday following years of
intense
campaigning by environmental and social groups highlighting serious
safety
concerns at the plant.

Campaigners
celebrated the
final closure of the Cabrera Nuclear Power station at Zorita after 38
years of
controversial operation. Greenpeace and social groups have long claimed
that
the plant was extremely dangerous and had been campaigning hard for its
closure, including a high profile occupation of the reactor’s dome by
activists
in April 2002.

“It is a great
victory for
public health and the environment,” said Juan López de Uralde,
Executive
Director of Greenpeace Spain.  The
Cabrera plant should have been closed many years ago. The closing of
the plant
categorically demonstrates that Zorita’s operation was very dangerous
because
of numerous technical problems and the absence of a security culture.”

Since 1981
security and
design weaknesses of the plant have led to successful attempts at
improvements.
However the accumulation of security problems have made it evident that
strict
conditions for total security guarantees—under which it was required to
operate—were impossible.

Today Greenpeace
demanded
that the government of Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero fulfil its promise
to phase
out nuclear energy in Spain, beginning with Santa Maria de Garoña in Burgos, one of Spain’s first generation
plants.
This power station also has serious problems of cracking caused by
corrosion of
the reactor vessel.

The Jose Cabrera
plant is
not the first power station to be shut down in Spain and raises
security and
safety concerns for all other nuclear facilities. The Vandellos plant was also closed because of security
problems in
1990 following a fire at the plant in 1989.

 

“Spain has
the potential to generate all of its current electricity demand
fifty-six times
over using renewable energy. It is incredible that the Government is
still
considering including nuclear in our power future,” said Carlos Bravo,
Nuclear
Energy campaigner for Greenpeace. “Nuclear energy is not the solution
to either
climate change, increasing energy demand or energy security. It creates
serious
environmental, health and security problems. What’s more, management of
radioactive waste is an environmental and social time bomb, a global
problem
which to this day still has no solution,” concluded Bravo.

Further contact information for
reporters to get video, photos or report details

Carlos Bravo, Greenpeace Spain Nuclear Energy campaigner + 34 66998241

Sara Vizzinato, Greenpeace Spain Press Officer + 34 679615375

Jan van de Putte, Greenpeace International: +32 496161584

[Author]

May 1, 2006 at 9:47 AM