PR:Confidence in the state procedure suffers another blow, the siting process for a Geological Disposal Facility needs a conceptual approach

=> CZECH version of this press release

Press release dated July 15, 2016 http://calla.cz/index.php?path=hl_stranka/tiskovky/2016&php=tz160715.php

Confidence in the state procedure suffers another blow, the siting process for a Geological Disposal Facility needs a conceptual approach
'''ČESKÉ BUDĚJOVICE – Minister of Industry and Trade Mládek performed a grand somersault in the siting process for a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) for spent fuel when he announced that further process in five sites (Čihadlo near Lodhéřov in the Jindřichův Hradec District, Magdalena near Jistebnice in the Tábor District, Březový potok near Pačejov in the Klatovy District, Čertovka near Lubenec in the Louny District and Hrádek near Dolní Cerekev in the Jihlava District) will be stopped. The siting process should continue only in the sites of Horka near Budišov in the Třebíč District and Kraví hora near Rožná in the Žďár nad Sázavou District, where he "feels the political will" for a GDF.'''

However, freezing geological surveys should apply to all sites. Not only that Minister ignores the results of local referenda related to the GDF in sites of Horka and Kraví hora. But it has also become a tradition that every Minister of Industry and Trade changes the government's approach to the siting process for the GDF, although it is a project that must be carefully prepared for decades and the result must guarantee safety for hundreds of thousands of years. It undermines confidence in the procedure of the state. Moreover, it is a contradictory step not just with a planned strategy, but also with the upcoming updated Concept of Radioactive Waste and Spent Nuclear Fuel Management, which was prepared by the Mládek's Office.

It is necessary to stop the geological surveys at all sites so that the updated Concept of Radioactive Waste and Spent Nuclear Fuel Management could be discussed and adopted, to clearly define criteria according to which the final site should be chosen and to amend legislation, in particular, to adopt an Act to strengthen the rights of municipalities during the siting process for a GDF.

Edvard Sequens of Calla said:''„First of all, I would like to congratulate the mayors and the people for whom the Minister Mládek brush the dust off the term "self-appointed activists" who have been making it clear for years that they do not associate their future with dangerous nuclear waste. Additionally, geological surveys should be stopped everywhere. First, clear and effective rules for the siting process for a GDF must be adopted and only then we can proceed further. However, if a change comes with each Minister it raises a serious suspicion that the results will actually be able to guarantee long-term safety.“''

 More information can be provided by: 
 * Ing. Edvard Sequens, Calla, email: [mailto:edvardDOTsequensATcallaDOTcz edvard DOT sequens AT calla DOT cz], tel.: +420 602 282 399

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