Network Meeting in Bure, August 11th-13th 2008

International network meeting in France

From 10th of August to 13th of August 2008 we will meet Anti Nuclear Activists from different countries and people from the local resistence against the nuclear dump in Bure and we will prepare the next steps of our networking projects: We would like to organise a big meeting in Bure with much more people from each country in the future, and also a seminar about “repo safe” in Germany, and we may have some more ideas!!

Location:

Resistence house in Bure (Bure zone libre, maison de la résistance)

Maison des association BZL

2, rue de l’Eglise,

55290 Bure

France

Homepage: http://burezonelibre.free.fr/

Please! Tell us your arrival time (and departure time) as soon as possible, because we have to organise a shuttle between the train station and Bure. Bure is a very small village, no buses are going there! So we would try to organise for your arrival two shuttles. One in the mid of the day (10th) and one on the evening (10th). So you may have to wait a little bit. We would organise the shuttle between Bar-le-Duc Train station and Bure.

Accomodation:
We will cook on ourselves. There is a common kitchen with everything what we need in Bure. We just have to buy food at the begining of the meeting. Plese tell us if you have special diet / allergy. We will sleep in a big common room. You need your sleeping bag! The house is very big. It is August, so it may be warm. But by bad weather, it may be cold. So you should take warm clothes.

Finance:
We have money from the European Union (Youth in Action) – it is a faisability visit, so we get money to discuss together about futher meetings and common projects. The subvention is for 70% of travel costs for 2 Person from France, Germany, Austria and Belarus. The subvention is also for Accomodation (sleeping place and eating).

If more people, or people from other countries want to come, it is fine! Accomodation is also free for these people, but we do not have any money for your travelling costs. We will buy food for about 10 people. If more people ar coming, for instance from other countries, please inform us so that we know how many food we should buy.

Program:
We may make changes in the program according to what you prefere. Planed activities:

• Presentation of the participants and of their organisation/group (you can bring some material), presentation of the campaign Europe’s nuclear herritage
• Short summary about the situation in your country (nuclear policy and repo safe, resistance movement, etc.) – you can bring some material
• Meeting with people from the local resistance in Bure
• Excursion to the repo-safe laboratory in Bure (the place where the governement would like to put radioactival material with high activity, it is right now just a “laboratory”)
• Work on future projects of the campaign “Europe’s nuclear heritage”: e.g. big seminar in Bure with more participants per country

It is also open for your Ideas… Our aim is to learn about the sitution in other countries, to help each other, to be activ together against nuclear policy, etc… to have a good working international network.

Activist Climbing On The Fence Of The Planned Final Disposal Site For High Level Radioactive Waste

Shaft Of The Mine

Construction Of A Floor Heating In The House Of “Bure Zone Libre”

Sign Of The Village Bure

Chalk Slogans On The Road

In The Bure Mine: Anchors To Stabilize The Cave

 

Board Informing About Experiments In The Bure Laboratory

 

View Into One Of The Tunnels

 

Installations On A Wall

 

Monitor With Measured Data Of The Cave

 

One Of The Tunnels They Are Expanding The Cave

 

Overview Of The Mine

 

The Resistance House: “Bure Zone Libre”

 

Currently The Activists Are Restoring The Building

 

A Car Full Of Anti-nuclear Symbols And Slogans

 

Discussion In The Kitchen…

 

Lecture About The French Nuclear Situation

 

Anti-nuclear Sticker

 

Collection Of Planned Activities

 

Another Traffic Sign With Anti-nuclear Comment

 

A Tablet About The Construction Of The Bure Site

 

The Visitor Center

 

Workshop

 

Group Picture

 

Workshop

 

Traffic Sign With Critical Slogan

 

---

 

Network Meeting in Bure, August 11th-13th 2008

This meeting was financed by the European Union, through the YOUTH IN ACTION program. It had the status of a preparation meeting for further future projects. The following is a record of the meeting.

Monday, August 11th 2008

1. introductions
   presentation of the day’s schedule
2. project presentation: Europe’s Nuclear Heritage
3. presentation of groups/people participating
   • Réseau Sortir du Nucléaire (F)
   • Sonne und Freiheit (A)
   • Chiche! (F)
   • LIgA (D)
   • Greenkids (D)
4. visiting the ANDRA laboratory/Bure
   • lecture in the visitor center
   • 3 l/minute water in one shaft
   • waste disposal in depth of 490 meters
   • in the sector of disposal the stone/medium is “Argilites/Callovo-oxfordien” (420-550 m depth; age of the deposits some 155-160 Mio years)
   • the presentation in the visitors center was protected by 2-3 security men!
   • there are two seismic zones near Bure
   • no Radon gas detected; no uranium detected in the minerals
   • porisity between 7 and 22 % at the site
   • permeability estimations are between 1,2 x 10E-13 and 3,0 x 10E-12 m/s for horizontal permeability
   • waste producers: Areva, EdF, CEA, others
   • regulators: ASN (independent authority), Prime Minister/inter-ministerial committee, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Research
   • waste management organization: Andra
   • Andra sites:
     • Centre de la Manche
       • was the first final disposal facility in France
       • used for LAW/MAW
       • like the other French final disposal sites in France not in the deep ground
       • 1969-1994: 530.000 m³ of waste
     • Siège
       • Andra headquarter
     • Centre de l’Aube
       • disposal facility
       • since 1992
       • used for LAW/MAW
       • monitoring: 300 years
       • surface disposal in halls
       • disposed waste: 200.000 m³
       • capacity: 1 Mio m³
       • for some 60 years lifetime
       • 30 ha area
     • Centre TFA
       • near Aube
       • 30 years lifetime
       • 45 ha area
       • project launching 1999/2000
       • start of disposal 2003
       • capacity: 650.000 m³
       • surface disposal site
       • (very) LAW
     • Laboratoire de recherche souterrain de Meuse -> Bure
       • Bure underground research laboratory
       • they didn’t search for alternative sites
       • no experiments with radioactivity done until now
       • HAW/MAW
       • investigations since 1991
   • currently investigations on disposal project for radium bearing waste, graphite waste -> no place found yet
     • they asked some 300 villages/sites if there are possibilities in july 2008
   • “In France we don’t want to store radioactive waste in salt because it could be used as a ressource”
     • another explanation why they don’t want to place disposal sites for nuclear waste in salt is that they don’t have many saltdomes in France
     • “I know that they have some problems in ASSE” (bad conditions – but it could be possible to solve those problems)
   • in Bure they detected a minimum zone of 250 km² usable for disposal
     • for disposal of all NPPs running in France they will need 10 km² area
   • HAW today is stored mainly in La Hague
   • Planning Act of June 2006:
     • licensing timetable for the geological repository:
       • 2009 Reduction of the research area from 250 km² to 30 km²
       • 2012-2013: Public debate
       • 2013: site selection
       • 2014: Application
       • 2015: Reports
         • Parliamentary Office for Evaluation of Scientific and Technological Options (OPECST)
         • National Review Board (CNE)
         • Nuclear Safety Authority
         • Teritorial Communities
       • >2015: Draft law to set reversibility conditions
     • Funding:
       • research: financed through a tax (3 cent/kWh)
       • construction of new facilities for storage and disposal financed through contracts
5. lectures about the situation in the connected countries
   • introduction, as new quests have arrived
   • Australia
     • New government decided to expand uranium mining abolishing the No New Mines policy that has been in place for over 2 decades
     • Australia has some 40 % of the world’s uranium
     • “pangea” (international company) tried to establish an international nuclear dump in Western Australia a few years ago
       • this proposal was denied, so the project is dead
       • “Australia exports the uranium so it has the responsibilty to take the waste back” (was one argument for this project)
       • A disposal site for Domestic nuclear waste near Woomera, South Australia was attempted by the goverment in 2001 -2004, but was blocked by resistance lead by Aboriginal people. Government is now putting pressure on Aboriginal communities to accept a Nuclear Waste dump in the Northern Territory..
     • Last year the government announced to build 10 new NPPs (e.g. because of climate change)But new government has decided against this proposal, but also promised No Waste Dump and are now doing a back flip….
   • Austria
     • 1978: decision against nuclear energy in Austria
     • “Austria understands itself as anti-nuclear – and their are proud of it”
     • discussion about Austria leaving EURATOM next few weeks (elections in Austria in September)
   • Czech Republic
     • six reactors (two NPP sites); third and fourth reactor planned in Témelin
     • final disposit sites: five different places in discussion
   • Germany
     • 17 “running” NPPs, two of them out of order because of accidents at the moment
     • three temporary disposal sites in Ahaus, Gorleben and Lubmin/Greifswald
     • four final disposal sites in ASSE, Schacht Konrad, Gorleben and Morsleben
     • nuclear fuel factory in Lingen
     • uranium factory in Gronau

Tuesday, August 12th 2008

1. the situation in France
   PR – interviews with the radio and TV
2. brainstorming about future activities:
   • NUCLEAR weekEND Finland 17-20 Oct. 2008 -> http://nuclearweekend.org
   • action in Bure -> maybe in September or October 2008 when European Union reprasentatives come to Bure
   • Travelling School of Life-Infotour through France, Portugal, Spain starting in the middle of September -> maybe coming to Bure for action? – http://skillsurfers.eu
   • 20. September Switzerland/Benken: demonstration
   • also 20. Sept.: International Uranium Action Day -> http://uranium-action-day.info
   • larger meeting? + action in 2009 in France, Germany
   • future communication??? -> two mailing lists already existing + new mailing lists being planned for the campaign
   • newsletter in French + German / +[1] newsletter?
     • information bi-national (French information in German language; German information in French language)
   • 27th Oct. UK -> blockade near London -> travelling from FIN to UK action?
   • Büchel: last August week -> protest in Germany against nuclear weapons
   • Nov. 1st-12th Castor train-stopping -> coordination of activities/invitation to Germany – http://castor.de
   • http://www.monde-solidaire.org
   • http://forumcivique.org
   • Austria/Czech: August 2009 network meeting – http://sonneundfreiheit.eu
     • reunion southern Bohemia / weekend + special language course
   • welcome-team is important if we invite foreign people to another country
   • protest march from Geneva -> Brussel April-June/July 2009 -> http://foodprintsforpeace.net
   • next meeting: youth environmental congress 27th Dec. 2008 – 4th Jan. 2009
   • international network office: translation, communication, coordination
   • internet webpage for information about those activities -> maybe http://nuclear-heritage.net
     decision making about evening program
3. talking about selected topics of future activities:
   • castor’08 – topic:
     • short presentation of planned acticities
     • results:
       • write an article in French
       • send an English leaflet for mobilization around to the contacts of this meeting -> all people are to spread this in their countries
   • meeting on Austrian/Czech border next summer
     • thinking about the content and number of days of this meeting
     • Austrian group will try to organize this meeting and try to get some money for travelling costs
     • possible to combine the meeting with a week when there is another meeting at the same place to give language workshops
       • who wants can participate (for example you can teach your language there or learn another)
       • in the morning there could be the language sessions and in the afternoon there could be excursions e.g.
     • ask people from Upper Austrian government if they give some money for the meeting
     • 1st or 2nd weekend in August 2009
     • write the invitation until the end of August 2008
     • translate the invitation into French
     • people from Germany and Australia want to come
   • Bure action in September/October 2008:
     • it would be good to have at least one activist from every country in front of the EU representatives
     • maybe Travelling School of Life infotour could come to this action
   • Geneva – Brussel march next summer
     • information about the planned activities
4. future communication:
   • use two mailing lists linking to each other:
     • anti-nuclear
     • anti-GMO
   • use the wiki website to spread your information and to communicate -> http://nuclear-heritage.net
   • it would be good to phone with each other to get to know what they are doing and to stay in contact
   • meeting each other at actions & events
   • meeting at JUKSS, in Czech and maybe at a larger meeting

Wednesday, August 13th 2008

1. visiting deep ground of Bure/Andra:
   • six visitors, three Andra people
   • visit of the Andra laboratory: -490 m galery
   • visitors: orange signal vests; Andra people: neon signal vests
   • steps of coming to the deep ground:
     1. visitor center: giving ID cards, getting visitor cards
     2. walking inside the protected area to another building -> getting cloths, magnetic card, safeguard equipment, helmet and lamp
     3. going to the shaft
        • there is overpressure -> two doors (security gate)
        • many observation cameras
        • contacting administration by radio (?) before it’s possible to use the elevator (up to now the procedure took us 40 minutes)
   • concrete on the walls for security issues
   • anquors in the walls of 2,50 m length for security issues
   • tests heating the rock and measuring the effects -> HAW heatens the rock – how much HAW they can put in a special area of the rock?
   • there is an area of experiments with radioactive elements: H-3, Cs-134, Sr-85, Na-22, I-125, Se-75 -> measurement of radioactivity coming out of the boreholes
   • measuring of earthquakes
   • measuring permeability of the rock
2. project planning for the network’s future.
   1. • two days meeting, some days containing lectures with background information and excursions
      • date somewhere between the 29th of December and the 1st of January
      • we are searching for partner organizations to apply for money from the European Union – we need to know during the next week(s)
        • six people in the age between 16 and 25 could get 70 % of their travelling costs to the meeting
        • partner organization in France: maybe Réseau Sortir du Nucléaire – they will tell until middle of August
      • do workshops about the situation and themes in their countries
   2. international network office:
      • we are searching for partner organizations to apply for money from the European Union – we need to know until the middle of September
        • partner organization in France: maybe Réseau Sortir du Nucléaire – they will tell until middle of September
        • we want the partner organizations taking part in planning and participation of this project
   3. network meetings in general:
      • possible to copy and translate the existing application text to get EU money
      • ask groups in other countries if they want to invite to a meeting in their country
      • wish to have half a day of freetime/break within the meeting
      • wish to do some kind of action at the meeting with media and in public
      • ask people to send their presentations before the meeting starts; short presentations -> better organized program!
      • partner organizations are asked to take part in planning, organizing, and participating of/at the meeting(s)
   4. “larger meeting”:
      • maybe financed as an “youth exchange” by European Union
      • maybe in Spring 2009 in Bure
      • we are searching for partner organizations to apply for money from European Union – we need to know as soon as possible
        • some ten or fifteen people in the age between 16 and 25 could get 70 % of their travelling costs to the meeting
        • partner organizations should take part in planning, organization and participating the project
        • partner organizations could be Greenkids in Germany and Réseau Sortir du Nucléaire in France
        • Réseau Sortir du Nucléaire will ask people in France if they want to organize this meeting in Bure
        • possible to ask other organizations from Finland, Austria and so on
      • another “larger meeting” could be in Germany (will be talked about later in next meetings because 2010 is still far away), maybe…
        • new year 2009/2010 at the youth environmental congress
        • summer 2010 (summer camps)
        • autumn 2010 (Castor transport)
   5. German campaign agains EPR and to inform about nuclear energy in France for German people:
      • information campaign & symbolic direct action in Germany
      • campaign running 2009
      • need support with information, by mind and as reference

Please complete this protokoll!

01/08/2008