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 A panel discusses uranium mining to start 160 km from Oulu
A panel of experts on nuclear energy met last Friday at Oulu University to discuss challenges the so-called 'nuclear renaissance'–a recent Finnish revival of interest in nuclear energy–presents for Northern Finland. Discussion touched on, among other topics, uranium prospecting in Karelia and Ranua by Areva, a French nuclear construction company.
The panel included Janne Björklund, nuclear energy campaigner for the Finnish Nature Conservancy (SLL), Osmo Kaipainen, Areva managing director in Finland, and Mika Flöjt, researcher in international environmental politics at the University of Lapland. The lecture hall, Keckmaninsali in the Faculty of Humanities, was full of university students and local residents.
International media attention for Finland's nuclear energy plans have climbed in recent years: the country is the only country in the world building a reactor, and one of few European nations about to mine uranium, used to fuel nuclear plants.
Olkiluoto-3, the world's first European Pressurised Reactor (EPR), which is set to open in South-West Finland in 2012, has been scrutinised in the world press for budget hikes of over 2.3 billion euros due to reported ‘defects and deficiencies,’ including problems with ‘pipes’ and ‘welding,’ and in constructing a unique ‘double-containment structure’ for its hi-tech reactor.
Areva, who own mines worldwide, are also responsible for the construction of Olkiluoto-3.
In Finland also, commentators have been increasingly critical of the building of new reactors. According to a survey by Taloustutkimus, a Helsinki-based market research company, opposition to constructing reactors rose from 38 to 55 percent this year.
Responding on Friday to the rising opposition to more nuclear power in Finland, Björklund commented, “I believe it has to do with the recent problems that risen at Olkiluoto and concerns over the pollution that comes from the nuclear life cycle.”
On November 2, Finnish, French, and UK authorities on radiation and nuclear safety issued a joint statement to Areva, expressing concerns over ‘insufficient independence’ in the EPR’s control and safety systems; Areva replied with assurances that the ‘highest safety standards’ will be upheld.
While the reactors might seem for many a Southern Finnish concern, for some the new proposals for uranium mines in Karelia and in Ranua, 160 km from Oulu, have brought the issue closer to home. Mines, once close by, are likely to stay close by. “As long as we have operating power plants in Finland it is likely that there will also be uranium mining,” commented Flöjt.
Osmo Kaipainen, speaking for Areva at the meeting, added that "Northern Finland has a lot of potential for uranium mining because previous research on potential deposits has been preserved well and distances for transporting uranium from the mine to the port are relatively small."
The audience raised concerns over threats to natural resources and ecosystems. One audience member declared that these ‘had not been taken into account while prospecting.’
Kaipainen assured the audience that while such threats were ‘minimal at the prospecting stage,’ these threats are ‘relevant’ and ‘should be discussed in the community affected.’
Another member of audience suggested that a potential conflict could arise between the interests of people living in the area and the individuals doing the prospecting. “The current law reserves the landowner their own right to peace while encouraging the individuals to do their prospecting elsewhere,” replied Kaipainen.
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