Any move by the British Government to approve the start-up of a new Mixed Oxide Fuel (MOX)nuclear processing plant at Sellafield, before legal rights of redress have been exhausted by our Government, would be tantamount to an unfriendly act. As things stand, the British authorities appear to be hell-bent on commissioning the plant by December 20th in spite of objections by a range of European countries - including Ireland - on grounds of health, safety, pollution and environmental protection.
For the past two days, a legal team led by the Attorney General, Mr McDowell, has attempted to prevent the facility from opening and has argued that Irish people had the right not to be subjected to further radioactive pollution. The team sought a temporary injunction from the United Nations International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea, in Hamburg, pending a full hearing of the case. All 21 judges will now decide, within weeks, on the merits of the Irish application, subject to a full hearing of the case in February or March. If an injunction is granted, it will add muscle to the Irish case that the 460m nuclear reprocessing facility at Sellafield, in Cumbria, should be abandoned.
Five Nordic countries - Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden - have been seeking the closure of Sellafield for the past three years under the separate, OSPAR Convention, which requires all 15 member-states, including Britain, to take all possible steps to prevent and eliminate marine pollution. At the same time, the Minister of State with responsibility for nuclear matters, Mr Joe Jacob, asked the British Government to postpone commissioning of the MOX plant pending the outcome of the OSPAR arbitration and believed he had received a commitment to that effect. Because of that, a British announcement in October that the plant would open in December caused fury in Government circles.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, raised the matter directly with the British Prime Minister, Mr Blair. He described Sellafield and the new MOX plant as the single most serious threat to Ireland's environment. The Government was "implacably opposed" to the decision to proceed with the plant. And he said the heightened threat from international terrorism meant that existing risks were unacceptably high at the plant while nuclear fuels would have to be transported through the Irish Sea.
In recent months, the British Prime Minister has spoken eloquently about how self-interest and mutual interests are inextricably woven together on the international stage. But his government has not put that concept into effect. Indeed, according to Mr McDowell, the British government is "essentially uninterested in our views and interests"; is unwilling to take them into account and sees no need for co-operation. It would be a serious mistake for the British to underestimate the depth of public concern that exists on this side of the Irish Sea in relation to Sellafield. More than any other issue, it could poison Irish/British relations that have gradually improved in recent years. International conventions and treaties should take precedence over short-term self-interest.