Nuclear Monitor #913
International NGOs reject uranium deliveries from Russia to Almelo
Ecodefense Russia, Stichting Laka / Laka Foundation Netherlands, Aktionsbündnis Münsterland gegen Atomanlagen Germany, Bündnis AtomkraftgegnerInnen im Emsland (AgiEl) Germany
Last week, the Dutch nuclear authority ANVS authorized the transport of up to six shipments of fissile enriched uranium from Russia to Urenco in Almelo. Urenco wants to enrich the uranium for French state-owned nuclear company EDF. Two years ago, when the Russian war on Ukraine started, Urenco claimed to stop all contracts with Russia. An alliance of international NGOs from Netherlands, Russia and Germany criticizes this and further nuclear deals with Russia and the missing sanctions and ban on nuclear materials.
Urenco was caught because the nuclear authority ANVS issued transport licenses from Russia. “But given the many shipments and permits, it is quite possible that Urenco never actually stopped enriching uranium from Russia,” said Dirk Bannink, from Laka Foundation. “Because those 24 empty containers coming from JSC Siberian Chemical Plant at Seversk, for which a permit was issued at the same time, I guess that’s also not for charity.”
There is no direct contract between Urenco and Russian nuclear companies, but it is the same effect – no matter if Urenco deals with Rosatom or Urenco deals with EDF and EDF with Rosatom: „The war is ongoing and Urenco is back to business as usual – no matter that the Russian nuclear authority and state-owned company Rosatom is involved in the occupation of the nuclear power plant Zaporizha and weapon development. That’s a slap in the face of all Ukranians and contradicts government policy of Netherlands, Germany and Great Britain,“ tells Vladimir Slivyak, Right Livelihood Laureate, from Russian NGO Ecodefense. Urenco is a trinational concern, Netherlands and British parts are state-owned, German part belongs to RWE and E.on.
„It is dishonest, that Urenco is enriching Russian uranium and leaving responsibility to EDF, which contracted Urenco for the enrichment job. Nobody forced Urenco to make the deal with EDF, it is generally known, that EDF is holding on to uranium deals with Russia,“ says Jens Dütting from the German NGO Aktionsbündnis Münsterland gegen Atomanlagen (Action Alliance Münsterland against nuclear facilities). „Since the war started, we are documenting and publishing uranium shipments from Russia to a EDF-subsidiary in Lingen, also through the Rotterdam harbour.“
French state-owned EDF is involved in every known deal with Russia
The NGOs point out that there is a large French dependence on the Russian nuclear industry. There are not only many imports of uranium from Russia to France and French nuclear fuel production in Lingen/Germany, but also JSC Siberian Chemical Plant at Seversk, Russia (JSC TENEX) is the only facility, able to convert reprocessed uranium from the French reprocessing facility in La Hague to uranium hexafluorid (UF6), a step necessary for enrichment. Furthermore EDF founded a joint venture with Rosatom, to manufacture nuclear fuel elements for soviet nuclear reactors in Czech republic, Bulgaria, Slovakia or Ukraine. Alexander Vent from Lingen and member of NGO Atomkraftgegner_innen im Emsland (Anti-nuclear activists in Emsland) asks: “Is there really a independence from Russia if the nuclear fuel is produced in Germany in future, but with Russian uranium, Russian licences, Russian experts and new contracts with russia, without this business would not be possible?”
Source: https://www.laka.org/info/urenco/2024-02-22-press-release-Urenco-EDF-rosatom.pdf
