Nuclear Monitor #912
Alex Vent, Bündnis AgiEL, Lingen,
Julian Bothe, .ausgestrahlt,
Vladimir Slivyak, Ecodefense
Collective objection to the expansion of the Lingen fuel element factory: Germany’s only nuclear fuel plant is located in the small town of Lingen. Despite the phase-out of nuclear power in Germany, fuel elements for nuclear power plants, mainly in Western Europe, are still produced there.
There are plans to expand the production of fuel in Lingen. The French company Framatome, which owns the factory in Lingen, has formed a joint venture with the Russian state company Rosatom to produce fuel for Russian-designed reactors in the future. In the EU, these reactors are located in the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Hungary, Finland.
The official reason Framatome gives: they want to help these countries to free themselves from their dependence on Russia. However, Framatome cannot simply produce these fuel elements itself; it needs Russian expertise, Russian machinery, Russian specialists and Russian licences. This is not a way of breaking free from dependency, but actually exacerbates it. The Kremlin, to which Rosatom is directly subordinate, is given access to the European energy supply.
The Lower Saxony Ministry of the Environment, where the Framatome application is currently on the table, ordered a public participation procedure at the beginning of January. The documents are available at the Ministries Website. Anyone (and any organisation) who has objections to these plans can submit an objection to the Ministry of the Environment. The deadline is 3 March.
Atomstadt Lingen needs your support here: please take part in the procedure, this is a real way to influence a situation!
There are two ways to participate and stop this dangerous plan of the Franco-Russian nuclear industry.
• Your organisation can write an own objection, stating why the expansion project are a problem for you and why it has to be stopped. Important arguments are not only the problems of nuclear fuel production in general, but also why the involvement of Russia is a problem, how spionage and sabotage could affect you, and how this endangers your security.
Please send this objection by 3 March (by post) to the:
Niedersächsisches Umweltministerium, Archivstr. 2, 30619 Hannover, Germany
But, most important, please send us the statement as well so that we can publicize it and pass it on to journalists: avent@web.de
• You can take part in a collective objection, which has already been prepared by us (see https://atomstadt-lingen.de/files/Sammeleinwendung-Brennelementfabrik-Lingen.pdf). You should then send the collective objection to the address given at the bottom of the form. Together with several environmental organisations, we will hand over the lists to the Minister of the Environment on 1 March. For more information (german website): https://atomstadt-lingen.de/2024/01/03/beteiligung/
