Greenpeace storms nuclear construction site

Activists from countries including the UK blockaded the entrance and occupied giant cranes at the Olkiluoto 3 site early on Monday, May 28, in protest over safety and work standards.

Nathan Argent, Greenpeace anti-nuclear campaigner, said: “It is alarming that in a desperate bid to cut corners and save time and money, safety is being compromised.

“Work should stop immediately so that a full and proper investigation can be conducted to expose the true costs of this nuclear folly.”

Three of six activists who climbed into a 60-metre high crane at the site on Finland’s west coast came down on Wednesday and were arrested by police.

Operators Teollisuuden Voima Oy (TVO) says the demonstration did not affect work.

Greenpeace wants TVO to stop work immediately and publish more than 1,000 breaches in safety standards reportedly identified by the Finnish safety executive STUK since work began 18 months ago.

TVO insists many were in work done by subcontracting firms and have been fixed.

Olkiluoto, a third generation European Pressurised Water reactor, is said to be 18 months behind schedule and the final cost is understood to have spiralled from 2.5 billion euros to more than 4 billion.

Greenpeace claims the decision to build the reactor and the subsequent delays mean Finland will miss its Kyoto targets.

It also maintains the reactor is the same design as is likely to be built in the UK following the publication of a new energy white paper, which aims to ring in a new age of nuclear reactors

“It is alarmingly clear that investing billions in nuclear power would be nothing more than a dangerous and expensive distraction in the fight against climate change,” said Mr Argent.

“Nuclear reactors always come in over-time and over-budget, and in Britain they’d still only contribute four per cent of our energy.

“There are much cheaper, safer, more effective alternatives.”

David Gibbs