Activists chained to German railtrack
- 12 years ago
A train carrying 150 tonnes of reprocessed nuclear waste makes it way through northern Germany.
It's final destination is a storage site at Gorleben.
But many oppose its journey and storage with protesters along the way blocking its path.
In Willerdingen, Greenpeace activists have chained themselves to a railway track.
(SOUNDBITE)GREENPEACE SPOKESMAN TOBIAS RIEDL, SAYING(German):
"These activists are demonstrating against the thoroughly dishonest nuclear waste policy of the German government. It wants to send this nuclear waste transport to Gorleben despite the fact that radioactive emissions are far too high. The planned storage facility in an old salt mine is completely inappropriate and unsafe for nuclear waste disposal."
Despite over 10,000 police involved in securing the trains passage, the Greenpeace protest took them by surprise.
(SOUNDBITE) POLICE SPOKESWOMAN WIEBKE HENNIG, SAYING (German):
"We have various hotspots throughout this transport operation as we have to survey the whole passage. Over the last few years Greenpeace has always surprised us with very creative ideas. So they obviously managed to do so again this year, even though we tried to protect the rails as well as possible."
The train carries 11 containers of highly radioactive waste, which protesters say could endanger the environment and population if there was an accident enroute.
In the wake of Japan's nuclear crisis, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has decided to shut down eight of Germany's nuclear power plants.
Marie-Claire Fennessy, Reuters
It's final destination is a storage site at Gorleben.
But many oppose its journey and storage with protesters along the way blocking its path.
In Willerdingen, Greenpeace activists have chained themselves to a railway track.
(SOUNDBITE)GREENPEACE SPOKESMAN TOBIAS RIEDL, SAYING(German):
"These activists are demonstrating against the thoroughly dishonest nuclear waste policy of the German government. It wants to send this nuclear waste transport to Gorleben despite the fact that radioactive emissions are far too high. The planned storage facility in an old salt mine is completely inappropriate and unsafe for nuclear waste disposal."
Despite over 10,000 police involved in securing the trains passage, the Greenpeace protest took them by surprise.
(SOUNDBITE) POLICE SPOKESWOMAN WIEBKE HENNIG, SAYING (German):
"We have various hotspots throughout this transport operation as we have to survey the whole passage. Over the last few years Greenpeace has always surprised us with very creative ideas. So they obviously managed to do so again this year, even though we tried to protect the rails as well as possible."
The train carries 11 containers of highly radioactive waste, which protesters say could endanger the environment and population if there was an accident enroute.
In the wake of Japan's nuclear crisis, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has decided to shut down eight of Germany's nuclear power plants.
Marie-Claire Fennessy, Reuters