6/28/2000
Press release
The action carried out by GREENPEACE in support of the pressure it is putting on the OSPAR Conference was, until now, limited to gesticulations directed toward the media, contestable per se, but genuinely militant.
- However, besides the outlaw character of its presence in the area, GREENPEACE has now added activities endangering the safety of people as well as property.
- Indeed, while inspection and maintenance operations, specifically indicated by markers, were being performed on the immersed installations along the pipe, zodiacs from GREENPEACE crossed over the protected surface despite elementary safety rules, endangering the life of the divers present.
- Furthermore, the device set up on June 28th at night and aimed at obstructing the discharge of the depolluted industrial water from the plant is a blatant violation of property rights, a serious attack on the proper operation of the facilities and a potential danger to the radioecological balance of the sea environment.
- As it is, the evacuation systems, as they are designed and authorized, guarantee perfect dispersion at the outlet of the pipe since their workings are specifically suited to the maritime currents of the region which are among the strongest in Europe.
- COGEMA wishes to recall that the impact of its discharges is measured, cross-checked and published. As recalled by a study carried out on behalf of the member States of the OSPAR Commission by OECD-NEA, this impact is maintained at levels well below the authorizations in force.
- Furthermore, COGEMA has publicly made the commitment to reach "zero impact" as soon as possible. This is why COGEMA has filed a claim with the Public Prosecutor of the High Court of Cherbourg, in particular for damage to property belonging to others.