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Thousands protest against 'Chernobyl on wheels'
A German nuclear waste shipment ended a tricky four-day journey from a French reprocessing plant on Tuesday, fanning a controversy about nuclear power which has hit Germany's government.
Up to 50,000 anti-nuclear protesters spent the past few days obstructing the passage of the Castor–Cask for Storage and Transport of Radioactive material–containers to rural Gorleben, with some 20,000 police shepherding it through at least a day late. The final 20 kilometer road trip was delayed from Monday night to Tuesday morning as police had to remove 3,000 demonstrators blocking the approach road to the facility. Protesters said they were roused by the government's decision to extend the life of Germany's 17 nuclear plants, long scheduled to close by 2021. "The Castor-convoy may have arrived in Gorleben but the government is further away than ever from its goal of creating acceptance for nuclear power," said Florian Kubitz, head of environmental group Robin Wood.
Yannick Rousselet, of Greenpeace, said: "Never in history has such a quantity of radioactive material ever been transported."
Laura Hameaux, of Sortir du Nucléaire, a network of 875 anti-nuclear groups, said: "It is at least twice the radioactivity of all the radioactive pollution from the Chernobyl catastrophe and [local people] haven't even been informed of its route."