COGEMA appeals provisional order obtained by Greenpeace

Press release

March 15, 2001

COGEMA has decided to appeal the court decision preventing the unloading of spent nuclear fuel from Australia. The ship, called "Le Bouguenais", transporting the cargo is currently berthed at the port in Cherbourg. COGEMA reiterates that the Company has obtained the necessary authorization for transporting, unloading, receiving, and temporarily storing the spent fuel. 

The licenses were delivered by France's department of safety for nuclear installations (DSIN) within the framework of a Franco-Australian agreement signed on August 27, 1999. That agreement, which covered the current operation, was published in France's official journal on January 7, 2000. 

These documents can be consulted on this Internet site  COGEMA would also like to reiterate at this time that all fuels entering the La Hague are sent there to be reprocessed, and never to be stored, which would be contrary to the rules set down by the Law of 30 December 1991 that govern the facility.

Lastly, COGEMA would like to reiterate that the start-up of operational procedures for reprocessing the materials is governed by specific authorizations, which are given by the DSIN on a case by case basis.  The chronological order of these authorizations is decided by the DSIN