Champagne bid to stop radioactive waste reprocessing fails
An appeal by CIVC, the French trade body for Champagne, to force France’s nuclear energy body to stop reprocessing radioactive waste less than 10 miles from designated Champagne vineyards has been rejected by the French courts.
The nuclear waste reprocessing site at Soulaines is seen as being a threat to winegrowers in the Champagne region and CIVC has warned growers to be “vigilant” after it failed to prevent the continuation of the reprocessing plant.
“We cannot take for granted that there is no risk of contamination, we shall remain vigilant,” a CIVC spokesman told the leading online resource for the beverage industry in the UK, just-drinks.
When a crack was discovered in one of the radioactive waste containers in 2005 the site was shut temporarily. It was re-opened in 2006.