Greenpeace denounces French uranium exports

PARIS » Six Greenpeace activists blocked a railroad in southern France on Tuesday, saying they were seeking to prevent loads of reprocessed uranium from getting exported to Russia.

The tracks the activists stood on are located in the commune of Pierrelatte just outside an Orano plant where radioactive material is processed and stored.

Orano, a multinational company headquartered in France, said Russian state nuclear firm Rosatom has a contract to buy 1,150 tons of reprocessed uranium that it plans to convert into nuclear fuel at its Seversk plant, in Siberia, and ultimately use in reactors to produce energy. The material is set to be sent in several shipments, Orano said.

“We are deploring the lack of transparency... when it comes to what happens to nuclear waste once in Siberia,” Roger Spautz, the head of Greenpeace’s nuclear campaign in France, said. Any conversion of uranium in the Seversk plant “leaves at least 85% of the initial material unused” in the hands of Russia, he said in a statement.

Greenpeace wants France to handle reprocessed uranium and nuclear waste in its own territory.

The environmental group’s action followed President Emmanuel Macron announcing this month that France plans to build its first new nuclear reactors in decades as part of efforts to meet its targets for reducing planet-warming emissions.