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(2 Feb 1997) English/Nat Environmental groups have called on the South African government to take a tough stance against a British ship carrying nuclear waste off the southern tip of the continent. The nuclear waster carrier Pacific Teal, Sunday, travelled about 130 miles off the coast of Cape Town, coming within the country's 200-mile exclusive economic zone. A South African navy vessel has been monitoring the ship's movements since yesterday Saturday. But a spokesman for the South African navy said they would only take action if the ship came within their 12-mile territorial water zone. Members of the environmental group Greenpeace boarded a chartered aircraft to enable them to monitor the movements of the British ship Pacific Teal as it makes it way around the Cape. The ship carrying 20 tons of highly radioactive nuclear waste reprocessed in France left for Japan last month despite protests by environmentalists. The shipment consists of 40 glass blocks of reprocessed waste weighing more than a thousand pounds each. They are originally from a Japanese nuclear power plant. According to environmentalists, exposure to the waste, mixed with molten glass and hardened in “vitrified“ blocks loaded in the container, is lethal after exposure of less than a minute. The shipping company says that the safety standards on board comply with international regulations. But the environmentalists claims the vessel and container are not strong enough to survive collision or intense heat. The fact that the ship entered South Africa's exclusive economic zone (E-E-Z) has angered environmental groups. A Greenpeace spokesman said he believed the ship had travelled around the Cape of Good Hope to try to avoid public and political opposition. The shipment was condemned by the South African government which opposes the shipment of toxic waste. The government has called the trade immoral because it could endanger people living on the route. Greenpeace has welcomed the government's response. SOUNDBITE: “We can say however late the South African government has at last took its position and acted responsible towards the situation. Issuing a statement to say that this ship can't go inside the waters is one. Doing something is two. And the South African government appears to be doing something right now. This should be a signal to other countries - this ship is not allowed within two hundred miles of any coast in this world and any country can take care of that. SUPERCAPTION: Diederik Samsom, Greenpeace spokesman Previous shipments of nuclear material since 1992 have been transported from Cherbourg to Japan. Greenpeace and countries along potential routes have protested, some banning the ships from their waters. Japan still has to depend on French or British companies who have a greater capacity for waste processing. Thousands of tons of spent nuclear fuel are sent to re processing facilities in the two nations, and the radioactive waste then transported back to Japan. Find out more about AP Archive: Twitter: Facebook: Instagram: You can license this story through AP Archive:
