Does Finland suffer from a nuclear death wish? So it seems, writes Ulla Klötzer. Its government responded to the world’s two greatest nuclear disasters by … ordering a new nuclear plant. And as the Olkiluoto nuclear project descended into face and litigation over a disputed €5 billion, they resolved to build two more. This time, supplied by Russia’s nuclear weapon-maker Rosatom.
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Finland was the first western country to decide to build a new nuclear power plant after the Chernobyl accident, as well as after the Fukushima catastrophe – despite of almost all opinion polls showing that a majority of Finns are critical to nuclear power.
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Areva, Rosatom and nuclear weapons
Eon had no connection to nuclear weapons whereas on the Rosatom homepage for a number of years it was stated that:
“The Nuclear Weapons Complex of ROSATOM implements the nuclear deterrence policy pursued by Russia. The sector operates in liaison with defence industry … the nuclear weapons industry paved the way for the national nuclear power because the idea to use nuclear for electricity generation appeared in the process of A-bomb creation.”
What about energy self-sufficiency? What about Finland’s in former days quite prominent role of acting for peace and disarmament in the world?
In addition to Rosatom’s direct connection to nuclear weapons, it is worth mentioning that also Areva has connections to the nuclear weapons industry.
In 1945 the French government created the Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) with the explicit and secret task of undertaking the French nuclear bomb program, as well as developing civilian nuclear applications.
The CEA has since then consolidated the military-civilian nuclear connection, both domestically and internationally. The CEA deals with a wide area of nuclear matters. Its former subsidiary Cogema, now Areva NC, is responsible for the production and maintenance of nuclear materials, including plutonium.
No lessons learned
The Finnish politicians have apparently not learned anything from Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Chernobyl, and Fukushima.
Read more at Russian roulette? Finland’s inexplicable nuclear obsession
