From the Activist Archive —-
published by WISE Bulletin in July 1978
Japan and Australia plan enrichment
Australia and Japan are discussing a joint project for uranium enrichment. This is a logical step for Australia, with its key position as world supplier. But it needs help with the heavy cost of an enrichment plant. Japan, totally dependent on out-side supplies, is the obvious partner. The most likely technique is the centrifuge, and URENCO (them again !) have offered their help with building it. Delegations from the Australian Atomic Energy Commission and the Japanese government and Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corp. met on April 19 for talks. They set the second half of the ’80s as a target date.
Source/ MAUM 277 Brunswick St., Fitzroy
URENCO battle spreads to Britain
On June 24,400 people took part in a first demonstration against the URENCO centrifugal enrichment plant at Capenhurst. This was the outcome of a determined effort to spread opposition to the British-Dutch-German project. Capenhurst (Cheshire) is a twin plant to the one at Almelo, expansion of which was decided at the end of June (See Politics) despite major Dutch opposition. It is feared that some or all of URENCO’s commitment to supply enriched uranium to Brazil could be met from Capenhurst. The British partner in URENCO has been pushing for its share of the deal – despite the lack of guarantees that Brazil will not make weapons.
Some 60 Dutch and British activists got together during the demo. against the Torness reactor, in May, and the “Stop URENCO Alliance” was formed, made up of Greenpeace, CIMRA, FoE local groups, SCRAM (opposition to Torness), SERA, and anarchist groups. The Capenhurst demo. is the first stage in a campaign to inform UK opinion. (In a recent parliamehtary debate, the UK foreign secretary muddled enrichment and reprocessing, and no-one reacted !).
The Torness and Capenhurst demo’s also mark the start of a new readiness in the UK anti-nuke movement to use direct action.
Contact/ Stop URENCO Alliance
c/o 6 Endsleigh Rd. – London W.C. 1
Tel. 44-1-3875370 (Greenpeace) 44-1-4393749 (SERA)
44-1-2630253 (CIMRA)