Protestors who try to block the path of a shipment of nuclear waste through the Irish Sea next month are risking injury or death, British Nuclear Fuels has warned.
The company yesterday accused Greenpeace of "irresponsibility" after activists from the environmental organisation protested in the path of two ships carrying rejected nuclear fuel off the west coast of Australia.
The two ships, the Pacific Pintail and the Pacific Teal, took evasive action early yesterday morning when Greenpeace protesters tried to block their passage through the Tasman Sea.
Two protesters, one of them an Australian politician, jumped into the water near the ships in a failed attempt to make them stop.
Greenpeace accused the company of an "over-the-top reaction" and said no one was endangered by the action.
Similar protests are planned in the Irish Sea when the two boats approach their final destination of Barrow-on-Furness in about a month. From Barrow, the vessels' cargo of mixed plutonium and uranium, which has been rejected by a Japanese power company, will be sent by rail to the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant.
BNFL's operations manager, Mr Alastair Brown, said yesterday's incident demonstrated Greenpeace's "true attitude" to safety.
"Greenpeace declared this shipment a security risk - and then they deliberately divulge the location and route of our ships. So who's being irresponsible there?"
Mr Brown said the two ships would not enter Irish territorial waters - which extend to 12 miles offshore - except in case of emergency. The ships left the Japanese port of Takahama on July 4th for the two-month trip, which has been condemned by protesters and some Pacific island governments.
BNFL insists the ships are among the safest in the world, and pose no threat to the countries along their route. Elaborate precautions had been taken to ensure that their cargo of mixed oxide (Mox)fuel rods would remain intact in the event of a collision or other accident. However, Mr Pete Roche, of Greenpeace UK, said the boats represented a significant risk to the health and safety of people in Ireland and Britain.
