Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: No Nuclear Waste!

By - - and IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

BUENOS AIRES, Jun 1 2002 (IPS) - – The governmental Environment and Sustainable Development Secretariat of Argentina and the Federal Environment Council, made up of delegates from the provincial governments, are speaking out against congressional approval of an international contract that authorizes the import of nuclear waste. Environment Secretary Carlos Merenson says the agreement between the local firm INVAP and the Australian government for the sale of an Argentine-made nuclear reactor includes a clause that offers Argentine territory as a destination for nuclear waste, which is “unconstitutional”.

The deal, denounced by 60 environmental organizations, has the authorization of the president and was ratified by the Senate, though it still needs approval by the Chamber of Representatives.