The Finnish Situation Today

Author(s)
Publication date
2006-10-06

Baltic Sea NGO Forum 2006 Documentation

Presentation SALTSJOBADEN 6 October 2006
by Gerd Söderholm, Environmental journalist from Finland
gerdsoderholm@yahoo.com

Gerd Söderholm, 6 October 2006.
Gerd Söderholm, 6 October 2006. Photo: Gennady Shabarin.

Finland is building the worlds biggest nuclear reactor, 1600 MW, since the parliament by a few votes majority voted for the fifth Finnish nuclear reactor in 2002.

This reactor was ordered by a French company Areva for 3 billion euros fixed. The French nuclear fuel transnational company Cogema, since 2006 named Areva NC, held a closed meeting in Helsinki in september 2004 at the ministry of trade and industry, where Cogema presented the idea of mining uranium in Finland in front of a selected public. The media and the public was not informed.

After this Cogema reserved several areas for possible future prospection and search of uranium ore. One of these areas is situated about 60 km to the north east from Helsinki.

Five (5) municipalities in the region Askola were asked to promptly come with their opinion to these plans, presented at a closed meeting in Askola on the 16th January 2006 mainly by Cogema representative in Finland, Mr Pauli Saksa, the ministry of trade and industry, Mr Krister Söderholm and the ministry of environment. All five municipalities, among them the historic city of Porvoo, said they do not want any uranium mines in their region, refering to all problems that are known about them and to the hindrances that the mining law lists being formally reasons to refuse mining.

Cogema was declaring: “If you do not want us, we will not come”.

However, in their reply by their Finnish representative, Pauli Saksa, in Apri 2006 Areva/Cogema refuse to take any note about the united will of the municipalities and more or less orders the ministry of trade and industry in Finland to accept the uranium prospection since there is no real hinders by law according to them.

One central person has been the chief inspector of mines, Mr Krister Söderholm. He has been three years in his position at the ministry of trade and industry which grants the uranium prospecting rights. To this work he came from private business and from the next month he will quit the ministry in order to become chief of the Scandinavian Minerals company. Voices are now raised in order to have it investigated whether he has been biased, when granting permissions to reserve areas for future possible prospection in the first place.

On Tuesday 10th October, next week, Areva will arrange a closed meeting for the press at 13 o clock in Nummi-Pusula, which is 90 km northwest from Helsinki, in the area of which Cogema has made reservations for possible future uranium mining prospection as well.

It seems that the French state and its multinational company Areva/Cogema wants to force new uranium mining markets opened in Finland. It goes without saying that Arevas aggressive market policy in this area was encouraged by the fact that the same company Areva builds the first prototype, third generation, nucelear reactor in Olkiluoto at the moment. Olkiluoto is situated at the westcoast of Finland, 50 kilometers south from Pori and 20 kilometers north from Rauma.

We have been in touch with the circles in France who knows about the experiences with urinium mining in Limousin. A French lawyer visited Finland in april 2006 telling about what is happening in Limousin after 50 years of uranium mining.

I wish to add to this story a few words about the Baltic Sea.

It is a common habit by nuclear countries to replace the disturbed wild fish fishing, with commercial fish farms, since the waters around nuclear facilities gets more or less dead because of the plancton and other kill around the nuclear power plant, which is without exception placed at waters, rivers or seas. They let small fish grow at their basins and sell them thereafter to the fishermen - and people are offered cultivated fish instead of the destroyed wild fish.
 
Finland risks to become an EU satellite

When and if the European constitution is ratified by all member countries, there will be no nation states any more. Finland risks then to be obeying whatever France will need in the nuclear field. Already now, who knows what the politicians have really promised to Areva/Cogema/ France, since there is hardly any official opposition from the upper spheres to the above mentioned plans?

END

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