4/3/2001
Press release
On 3 April, the Court of Appeals in Caen overturned the ruling handed down by the tribunal in Cherbourg on 15 March.As a result, COGEMA is authorized to unload, take delivery of and temporarily store the spent fuel from the ANSTO research reactor in Australia that has been sent to the La Hague plant for reprocessing.In its judgment, the court noted that "at the time of the ship's arrival, COGEMA had obtained all the regulatory and administrative authorizations required to import and temporarily store this nuclear material in France."
As a consequence, the Bouguenais, the ship that transported the spent fuel from Australia, will be unloaded today. The spent fuel will be transferred to the La Hague plant and reprocessed after cooling in the pool. The finding of the appeals court further states that the judge hearing the summary procedure did not have the power to rule on the situation cited in the Greenpeace petition. Greenpeace has been ordered to pay 20,000 francs to COGEMA, by reason of article 700 of the new civil code.
As a consequence, the Bouguenais, the ship that transported the spent fuel from Australia, will be unloaded today. The spent fuel will be transferred to the La Hague plant and reprocessed after cooling in the pool. The finding of the appeals court further states that the judge hearing the summary procedure did not have the power to rule on the situation cited in the Greenpeace petition. Greenpeace has been ordered to pay 20,000 francs to COGEMA, by reason of article 700 of the new civil code.