The shipment of nuclear waste has always been a vexed subject, but after September 11th, its potential for striking fear into people is understandably greater than ever.
To the possible consequences of a collision, or other accident, at sea must now be added the danger of a terrorist attack on a nuclear cargo, or an attempt by terrorists to steal the raw materials for a nuclear bomb. Notwithstanding the reassurances of the nuclear industry, the thought of such an incident is almost too frightening to contemplate.
It is against this background that British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) has begun shipping rejected mixed oxide (Mox) nuclear fuel rods from Japan to the UK. Already, the voyage of the two ships carrying this cargo has been the subject of protest; environmentalists off the coast of Australia yesterday attempted to block the path of the two vessels.
This is but a foretaste of what is to come when the ships arrive off the coast of Ireland in about a month's time. Greenpeace has promised to send out a flotilla of boats in the path of the Pacific Fantail and the Pacific Teal, just as it did yesterday in the Tasman Sea. The protest will serve to highlight the presence off Ireland of such an unwelcome cargo, though it is to be hoped that any demonstration does not endanger the safety of those at sea, in whatever vessel.
The Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, is correct when he says that the shipment of Mox fuel through the Irish Sea represents an unacceptable risk to Irish people. BNFL's record does not inspire confidence; the current shipment would not be taking place if the Japanese client of the company had not rejected the fuel after it was found that staff at Sellafield had falsified records. The company's massive financial losses are a further cause for concern.
What the Government can do about this shipment is less clear. At the very least, it should demand full information from BNFL about the locations and path followed by the two boats. It should also demand that the shipment stays as far as possible from Irish territorial waters, preferably by staying out of the Irish Sea.