The French Connection

Nuclear Myths and France: Setting the Record Straight

Introduction

France gets nearly 80% of its electricity from its 58 reactors. However, such a heavy reliance on nuclear power brings with it many major, unsolved poblems, most especially that of radioactive waste. Despite assertions to the contrary, the French nuclear story is far from a  gleaming example of nuclear success. The example, set by the French nuclear infrastructure - and best exemplified by its giant nuclear corporation, Areva, is not to be emulated. 

In our fact sheet and pamphlet, (and see For More Information, below) we show how France's decision to reprocess reactor fiuel has contaminated the seas as far as the Artic Circle and may have led to leukemia clusters near the reprocessing plant. Its decision to try breeder reactors was an expensive failure. Its plutonium fuel program has not reduced its surplus stockpile of plutonium which is calculated at greater than 80 metric tons sitting in tens of thousands of vulnerable containers and with no disposal option. France has no radioactive waste repository.

The French Nuclear Medusa
The tentacles of French nuclear giant - Areva - stretch across the globe - but the company track record includes a culture of secrecy and a history of violations against health, safety and security. Our regular feature - The French Nuclear Medusa (meduse = jellyfish in French) - uncovers the latest example of corporate malfeasance within the French nuclear complex, bolstering our case that the example of nuclear France must be roundly rejected.

This Week's Medusa

Areva is dramatically increasing its uranium mining activities in Kazakhstan, a country whose notorious nuclear history includes nuclear weapons tests inflicted on unprotected populations that continue to cause birth defects today. Areva plans to mine 4,000 tonnes of uranium a year, up from 1,000 tonnes. However, according to The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, “Kazakhstan is unprepared for the environmental impact an increase in uranium mining would cause, and the country lacks adequate regulations governing the rehabilitation of land used by mining enterprises.” Furthermore, Kazakhstan is reputedly rife with corruption and, asserts the Bulletin, the “threat that crooked officials could undermine the country's nonproliferation policies by making lucrative side deals with rogue countries or terrorist groups remains.” For older Medusas, click here.

More Information

Read our pamphlet on Nuclear Power in France. (Feel free to print and distribute or request copies from Beyond Nuclear.)

Read our detailed Fact Sheet on Nuclear Power and France: Setting the Record Straight.

And see The Cogema File to better understand the culture of cover-ups and contamination that has marked the corporate nuclear history of France.