ISSUE 654 • 28th September - 4th October 2018
EST 2005
Radiation case By Jose Artur LAWYERS with the Spanish government have admitted they now expect less soil contaminated in a historic nuclear weapons accident in Palomares to be moved than previously planned. The office of Spain’s Attorney General told the National Court in Madrid the changes to the 2010 cleanup plan were not connected to the amount of radiation in the soil. They added they were down to the way land in the town was being used. The National Court has held hearings over the cleanup since the environmental NGO Ecologists in Action filed a case against Spain’s Nuclear Safety Council (CSN). Environmentalists claim the current situation in Palomares was ‘unsustainable’ and ‘unacceptable.’ Parts of the town have been fenced off since four thermonuclear bombs fell on it after a mid-air collision involving United States Air Force planes in 1966. There have been several cases since where locals in ill health have accused the government of letting them becoming exposed to radiation. Ecologists in Action claimed the
CREDIT: Greenpeace
NUCLEAR OPTION: Much of Palomares is still experiencing the effects of the accident. CSN had cut their estimates from the amount of soil that would be moved from around 50,000 cubic metres to 28,000 cubic metres. The group said the change was politically motivated and had no scientific basis. They said they were concerned the United States, which previously agreed to help Spain with the cleanup, may take less contami-
nated soil as a result. Potential radiation doses had not changed and new data was now available to make for more ‘realistic’ assessments of how much land would be moved, government lawyers told the court. The environmental group has continued to push for the CSN to set a deadline for the cleanup. The case continues.
Migrant centre rally WORKERS at migrant reception centres in Almeria City have protested against the amount of unaccompanied children arriving there which they claimed had almost doubled. Demonstrators at the rally, backed by the CCOO and UGT trade unions, also claimed the reception centres where they worked were being treated as emergency sites. The union said there had been an ‘avalanche’ of child migrants arriv-
ing at the centres over the summer. Ana Carmona, of the CCOO, said the Piedras Redondas centre in Almeria City had 30 children staying there while the Indalo site had 50. Their capacity is 18 and 30 respectively. The union said they were calling on authorities to do whatever is necessary to deal with the situation which they described as ‘chaotic.’ They added such situations were
now becoming ‘routine’ and that the centres were also suffering from staff shortages. Carmona said some children were arriving with illnesses and diseases and outbreaks had only been stopped due to staff who have years of experience. Jose Antonio Garcia, of the UGT union, said an “unpleasant atmosphere” had now set in at the centres.