TV programme investigates French mining company prospecting for uranium in Finland

Areva accused of sloppy environmental and administrative record

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The uranium prospecting activities of the French state-owned company Areva came under sharp criticism on Monday on the investigative current affairs programme MOT on YLE TV1.
     Earlier this month the Ministry of Trade and Industry granted Areva (formerly Gogema) permission to prospect for uranium deposits in Eno and Kontionlahti in the north of Finland.
     The decision means that it is likely that there will be a search for uranium in Askola the southern Uusimaa area.
     
An Askola farmer interviewed in the programme said that he had read in late 2005 that the plans also applied to his land.
      Paula Nyberg, a high official at the Ministry of Trade and Industry says that officials must grant permission for prospecting if there are no legal impediments.
     MOT reported that there is a shortage of uranium in the world. France is heavily dependent on nuclear energy, with 58 commercial reactors in the country. France needs about 8,000 tonnes of uranium a year to power the plants, but its own mines have been depleted, or become too expensive to exploit.
     France has had nearly 200 uranium mines and refining facilities. The last mine in the country was closed five years ago.
     
Areva has been under fire in France for failing to remove radioactive rubble from areas near the mines.
     Last year a local environmental organisation in Central France sued the company, saying that Areva's uranium mine has polluted water in the area, and that the company has failed to deal with radioactive rock unearthed during the mining.
     A court ruled that the company had operated within the law.
     MOT reported that Areva's activities in Finland have also brought negative reactions.
     Along with Siemens, the company is involved in the construction of a new nuclear reactor in Olkiluoto.
     
In a report published in July Finland's Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK) pointed out a number of problems caused by Areva in Olkiluoto. The shortcomings included poor communication, vague allocation of responsibility, and lack of clarity in authority questions.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Farmers and summer residents unite against uranium prospecting (11.10.2006)
  Demonstrators come to Helsinki to protest against uranium exploration rights (4.5.2006)
  Eastern Uusimaa residents grill uranium company about exploration rights (21.2.2006)
  Four foreign mining companies prospect for uranium in Finland (18.1.2006)

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