Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
a demonstration by 15,000 people. Six other big demonstrations had little
effect on the government plan. Only one facility was canceled. The gov-
ernment was quite determined, seeing nuclear power as a route to inde-
pendence from foreign oil supplies, and connected it to the defense policy
of an independent nuclear weapon strike force. Furthermore, the utility,
Electricité de France, was a government corporation. The French polity is
highly centralized, depends on experts, and has a long tradition of plan-
ning. In the 1981 presidential election, the Socialist candidate François
Mitterand promised to hold a referendum on nuclear energy, but after his
victory decided against it. He did cancel one plant and slowed the pace of
the program, but by then Electricité de France already had overcapacity.
Eventually France generated 77% of its electricity from the atom (plus 13%
from falling water). It has a total of fifty-nine reactors. Radioactive waste
is sent to reprocessing plants at La Hague and Marcoule. Highly radio-
active waste is vitrified (sealed in glass), and stored at La Hague in the
Rhone Valley for several decades waiting for permanent geological dis-
posal in deep clay or granite. No permanent sites have been selected yet.
In spite of criticism, the atom continues to enjoy strong governmental sup-
port. Protests continue, to little effect. In 2004 activists lay on the railroad
tracks to block a shipment of nuclear waste en route to the reprocessing
plant at La Hague. One was killed when the train failed to stop. On Easter
Sunday 2006 at Cherbourg, 20,000 protesters rallied against the decision
to construct a new reactor.
Industrial pollution is regulated by licenses for each factory or installa-
tion. This dates to the 1810 law, with amendments in 1917, stressing health
and safety. By 1976 this was outdated due to rapid industrialization in the
preceding 30 years, thus the law that year added environmental controls.
Larger installations required an environmental impact study, while smaller
ones needed to follow regular standards. Although the French government
claims near absolute authority, in practice it negotiates with the owners
on reasonable levels of compliance. The licenses are enforced by inspectors
detailed to the environmental ministry on a day-to-day basis, but actu-
ally employed by the industry ministry, consequently, they were less strict.
Once discovered, violations must be proven according to rigid legal proce-
dures, hence, the industry is less likely to be convicted. Finally, even when
finding the industry guilty, courts often reduce fines and penalties. 9
Upon assuming the presidency in 2012 François Hollande, a Socialist,
set a course more favorable to the environment than his predecessor.
He would close the nuclear plant in Alsace, the oldest one in France.
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