The meeting under the Klenov Massif

The last meeting this year of the mayors of the final depository location for nuclear waste in the Jindrichuv Hradec region took place, as a part of the meeting of the "Association for the protection of the Klenov Massif" in the early evening of 29.11.2005, with the participation of the Governor of the South Bohemian Region Jan Zahradnik, representatives of the Calla association and of the Obcanske sdruzeni za zivotni prostredi (Civic Initiative for the environment).

To begin with, the Mayor of Lodherov Jiri Dvorak summed up the activities that took place in 2005. After this, Governor Zahradnik spoke, and confirmed the standpoint of the regional municipal council. This standpoint rejects the placement of a nuclear depository on the territory of the South Bohemian Region and also the addition of a third and fourth block in the Temelin nuclear power plant, because these plans are not in harmony with the concept of an 'active' development of the region. His exact words were: "It is necessary to completely halt surveys, because they threaten the good name of the South Bohemian Region." He pointed to the fact that it is necessary to be aware that the scope of the 100 000-year decomposition of nuclear waste exceeds the length of geological changes, and so it is difficult over the entire length of this period to rule out the risk for such deep storing of radioactive waste. Despite this, he believes that at one point we will have the opportunity to re-utilize this spent nuclear fuel.

The representative of Calla Edvard Sequens warned against further planned steps of the Radioactive Waste Repository Authority (RAWRA). This agency plans for next year trips for mayors to Gorleben in Germany, to Sweden, and further PR activities. He drew attention to the clash in the negotiations of the representatives of RAWRA, who promise financial assistance to citizens in the planned localities, whilst at the same time not supporting an amendment in the nuclear law which would partly solve this issue, and that at present there is no other legislative possibility of support for such financial assistance. There was discussion of the fast-approaching elections, when it will be important for now mayors to respect referenda and for these mayors to be sufficiently briefed on the theme of nuclear waste. Continuity of standpoint and co-operative solidarity are important.

Hana Gabrielová, Calla