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New uranium transport from Gronau (and Almelo?)
SOFA Muenster - 03.01.2008 22:40
At the site of the uranium enrichment plant in Gronau a new big transport of depleted uranium waste to Russia is currently being loaded onto train wagons. The departure is not to be expected before next Wednesday however it is well possible that at the same time uranium waste from Almelo will be shipped to Russia too. Both uranium enrichment plants got brand new transport licences for their dirty uranium waste export business to Russia. Regional groups from the Muensterland have already called for international protests against the next uranium transport.
In 2008 the international uranium enricher Urenco is allowed to ship 9375 t of depleted uranium from Almelo and 7500 t from Gronau to Russia - this might well be the busiest year ever!
The uranium waste is transported from Gronau by train first to Muenster then via Oldenzaal-Hengelo-Almelo-Deventer-Apeldoorn-Amersfoort-Utrecht to Rotterdam-Waalhaven. The uranium waste from Almelo goes by truck over the motorway to Rotterdam-Waalhaven. A "typical" Gronau train consists of up to 19 wagons or 57 containers - this would mean 57 lorries for a similar load from Almelo (in other words a real shuttle service between Almelo and Rotterdam)!!
In the past the trains left Gronau on Wednesday evenings, but last October for the first time ever the train left on a Thursday. However, this attempted coup was detected even before the train left.
From Rotterdam the Wagenborg Shipping Company from Delfzijl takes the radioactive waste between Norway/Denmark, Sweden/Denmark (Malmo/Copenhagen) and Finland/Estonia (Helsinki/Tallinn) to St Petersburg. From there everything goes by train to the closed city of Novouralsk near Ekaterinburg at the Ural mountains.
Over the last two years Dutch, Russian and German groups have managed to make this scandalous topic very public. There have been lots of reports in the media, even in Switzerland and Finland. This year we should try to stop Urenco's dirty business once and for all!
However, Urenco is pressing very hard to extend Gronau and Almelo. In Gronau the first step of the massive extension scheme (from 1800 t to 4500 t) was scheduled to start business in October but was delayed. In Almelo Urenco is also pushing ahead with a massive extension.
Meanwhile a significant change in ownership of Urenco is under way: Currently the British and Dutch state plus EON/RWE hold one third of the shares each. The British government already announced last year their plan to sell their share. According to recent British media reports the UK-government would like to push the deal through in 2008. Both the Dutch government and EON/RWE have to approve the prospective buyer. The media report says that other utility companies are top favourites: That means probably the likes of AREVA (having a joint venture with Urenco at the moment for a new enrichtment plant in Pierrelatte). Other possibilities would be that the Dutch and German shareholders buy the British shares for the expected 2 billion euros. The outcome will say a lot about the future direction of Urenco.
But first of all the next uranium transport takes centre stage. Up-to-date information in English and German on www.urantransport.de
 E-Mail: sofa-ms@web.de  Website: http://www.sofa-ms.de
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