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Lucas Heights II:

Australian nuclear waste cannot enter into Argentina.

The Court of Justice forced the government to prevent the entering of Australian "waste and radioactive waste" into the country.

The court verdict was based on the claim presented by environmentalist Juan Schroeder.

In 2000 Raúl Montenegro, president of Funam and Alternative Nobel Prize, denounced that australian nuclear waste "cannot enter into Argentina because such entering is forbiden by article 41st of the Constitution".

Funam denounced that the contract between Ansto and Invap, and the nuclear agreement with Australia "both are unconstitutional according the verdict" and asked Invap "to learn that export of nuclear tecnology cannot be accompanied by the import of foreign nuclear waste. This is an historical achievement for all those NGOs and people that fighted during years against the import of australian nuclear waste".

Córdoba (Argentina) and Sydney (Australia), November 10th, 2006.- The Environment Defense Foundation of Argentina, FUNAM, congratulated environmentalist Juan Schroeder for having successfully presented at the Court of Justice a claim against the sending of Australian nuclear waste to Argentina. This week the Court of justice of Bahia Blanca accepted the claim presented by Juan Schroeder, and forced the government to prevent the entering of Australian "waste and radioactive waste" into the country. This historical verdict was signed by Judges Luis Cotter, Ricardo Planes and Angel Argañaraz from the Federal Court of Bahia Blanca. The entering of Australian nuclear waste was included in the provisions of the contract signed by ANSTO of Australia and INVAP or Argentina. In October 2000 Raul Montenegro, president of FUNAM, denounced that this provision of the contract "violate article 41st of the Constitution of Argentina". Six years later the Court endorse his claim.

In September 2000 Raul Montenegro told to the "Select Committee for an Inquiry into the Contract for a New Reactor at Lucas Heights” of the Australian Senate: "this contract, which was never noticed to the public, had a provision for the possible sending of spent fuel to Argentina, and this provision is illegal in our country. According Article 41 of Argentina’s Constitution, approved in 1994, the entrance of radioactive waste is prohibited. And spent fuel is radioactive waste". Since 2000 more than 300 NGOs from Australia and Argentina worked together against the sending of radioactive waste. "Now we can see the results of our joint battle", said Montenegro.

Juan Schroeder stated that the Federal Court of Bahia Blanca "clearly established that the constitutional prohibition for importing foreign radioactive waste is permanent". Juan Schroeder is one of the authors of Article 41st of the Constitution of Argentina approved in 1994. "The Court also established that exhausted nuclear fuel is waste", said Schroeder. He added: "the verdict of the Court force the government to prevent the entering of foreign nuclear waste" and to delete "the provision of the contract that establish such illegal entering".

Dr. Raul Montenegro, who received the Alternative Nobel Prize in 2004, explained that "seven years ago ANSTO and INVAP agreed on the eventual sending of exhausted nuclear fuel from Lucas Heights II in Sydney to Argentina. Such high level radioactive waste, or HLW, was expected to be diluted and processed in Argentina, and returned to Australia as LLIL, Long Lived Intermediate Level waste". After 2000 INVAP organized lobby works for convincing citizens and institutions that exhausted nuclear fuel "is not radioactive waste". Their attempts "were unsuccessful" and the public pressure against the import of Australian nuclear waste "increased permanently".

The nuclear agreement with Australia: unconstitutional.

According Raúl Montenegro "Since the beginning of 2001 INVAP faced more and more opposition. The issue was widely covered by media, and people from all over Argentina protested against the import of nuclear waste. The contract was under threat for being secret and unconstitutional. For reinforcing the contract INVAP promoted a nuclear agreement with Australia, even if the entering of radioactive waste was clearly forbidden by Constitution". This agreement "included more illegal provisions, and established the eventual processing and reprocessing of Australian nuclear waste. For the first time Argentina publicly offered services of reprocessing. This was a non sense, authoritative and illegal proposal", said Raul Montenegro. After years of delay the Nuclear Agreement with Australia was finally approved by the parliament. But the judicial claim presented by Juan Schroeder at the Court in 2002 positively evolved. After a first rejection by the Court, his claim was finally accepted (19th October 2006).

"Now the verdict of the Court has turned unconstitutional both the contract and the agreement with Australia. The best way now it's to revisit both documents, and to exclude their provisions on processing and reprocessing in Argentina. FUNAM, Juan Schroeder and myself we will act as watchdogs for ensuring the replacement of the Contract and the Nuclear Agreement", said Raul Montenegro. Juan Schroeder added: "INVAP has to learn that the export of nuclear technology cannot be accompanied by the import of foreign nuclear waste. This is an historical achievement for all those NGOs and people that fight during years against the import of Australian nuclear waste".

For more information contact please:

Dr. Raúl A. Montenegro, Biologist. President of FUNAM. Professor of Evolutionary Biology at the National University of Cordoba. Alternative Nobel Prize 2004 (RLA, Stockolm, Sweden).

Telephone: +54-3543-422236.Fax: +54-3543-422236. Email: montenegro@funam.org.ar

Juan Schroeder. Environmentalist and filmmaker. Founder of Tierralerta. Former elected member of the Constitutional Assembly (1994). Former Executive Director of Greenpeace Argentina. 

Telephone +54-11-4842 7416. Cell phone: +54-11-1551365856. Email: jsnuevatierra@hotmail.com


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Environment defense foundation. www.funam.org.ar
E-mail: funam@funam.org.ar