LOS ANGELES--Caribbean nations on July 20 called on Japan, Britain and France to immediately halt the transport of reprocessed nuclear waste through the Caribbean Sea.
LOS ANGELES--Caribbean nations on July 20 called on Japan, Britain and France to immediately halt the transport of reprocessed nuclear waste through the Caribbean Sea.
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM), which includes Jamaica and Haiti, said that anxiety about the transport of radioactive waste from Britain and France to Japan has spread through its member countries since the March 11 accident at Japan's Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
CARICOM said the transit of radioactive waste is unacceptable because it puts at risk the region's people and ecosystem.
A CARICOM spokesman said a ship was scheduled to leave Britain the same week, but that the community had not been told the specific date and time for security and other reasons.
Japan commissions plants in Britain and France to reprocess its spent nuclear fuel, and the waste generated is shipped back to Japan for storage by way of the Panama Canal.
Caribbean countries fear a possible accident or terrorist attack. Denzil Douglas, chairman of CARICOM, told the Associated Press that the practice has become intolerable, given the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.