Capitalism's lethal panacea For workers control in he nuclear industry!

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By Tony Twine The agents of international capital are proceeding in great haste to develop what they imagine will be an 'all-time' panacea for their disintegrating economic system.

The impetus behind the accelerated programme of Fast Breeder nuclear reactors in France, Britain, West Germany, etc., lies not only in the hope of gaining greater political and economic independence from imported oil, but in securing a share of the world market for nuclear plants, both military and commercial.

The rewards appear considerable: at present over forty countries have definite nuclear energy programmes, with plans for another 450 stations by 1995, costing an estimated $90 billion.

A world figure of some 2000 reactors has been forecast by the end of this century (Atomic Energy Commission, JD). Indeed US companies (Exxon, Westinghouse) have already built or sold over 200 PWR's worldwide, with France (Framatome) and W. Germany (NRC) also involved in extensive reactor exports.

However, it is, principally, in the so-called Third World regions, areas without indigenous coal or oil, where this 'boom[!)' is scheduled to take place-notwithstanding debts totalling $55 billion already to the multi-nationals, of course.

For the international working class, though, the expanse of the FBR programme with its associated fuel reprocessing facilities has much more profound implications than being merely an antidote to the declining profitablity of capitalDespite its huge potential benefits the technology remains beseiged with safety problems, not least the unsolved ultimate disposal of nuclear wastes.

As it is, the FBR cycle continuously generates highly radio-active plutonium with resulting high activity wastessome of which remain 'critical' for "geological" times (i.e. 24,400 years for plutonium).

At most points in this cycle (mining, processing, transportation etc) workers can be exposed to radiation hazards; in reprocessing and storage plants countless thousands of gallons of radioactive waste have leaked into the environment (Hanford, Washington).

And to date waste products are either deposited in 'geologically safe' underground vaults or in containers dumped on the sea floor (46,000 tonnes into the Atlantic since 1967).

Caesium pollution in traditional fishing areas in the Irish Sea has risen ten times between 1973-75, prompting the 1978 report (National Radiological • Board) to forecast doubled radiation levels by the year 2000 (natural radiation is said to represent a cancer risk of 100,000 tọ 1)..

After. the crisis at Three Mile Island (Harrisburg) eight workers were found to be contaminated and 13,000 people living near the plant are still forced to undergo regular At the Windscale plant radiation leaks have in the past coniaminated up to 500 square kilometres. entering the local food chain necessitating the Health Authority ordering destruction of farm crops.

If fission' is fundamentally dangerous, in exposing workers within hundreds of miles of power stations then the proliferation of FBRs raises the spectre of atomic catastrophe a whole magnitude higher.

The nuclear club (USA, USSR, Britain, France. and China) became six-strong the instant India detonated Its bomb in. 1974. The strategic relationship with Pakistan though was not redressed towards parity until 1978 when France sold Zia's dictatorship the complete nuclear cycle.

Apart from the known fifteen nuclear weapon states, other critical paths include the infamous German connection with Brazil, Argentina and South Africa, who, with zionist Israel are acknowledged to possess atomic arsenals; other military regimes in South Korea, Taiwan, Libya, Iraq and Peru are all striving energetically to develop their own bombs.

Central to this scenario is the continuing availability • of uranium • supplies; the USSR, USA and Australia control by far the major deposits while British links with racist South Africa enable mining multinationals (RTZ) to capitalise on these resources in Namibia.

Opposition to nuclear technology, at present focussed bourgeoisie, anarchists, etc., is →::: nes phenomenon marches of the early 1960s in England mobilised 150.000 workers. intellectuals (plus Labour 'lefts' like Michael against the "deterrent"

Nevertheless, workers' legitimate fears over their future health and safety have sparked off huge demonstrations in Europe and the USA.

In July 1977 at the site of the world's first FBR at Malville in France, over 55,000 workers and students were brutally attacked by state police; one worker was killed and over 100 injured Again in October 1977 at Kalkar in West Germany, 60;000 demonstrators were opposed by 13,000 armed paratroops and police, with 150 arrests.

Bilbao

In July 1977 in Bilbao, Spain, over 200,000 came out on the streets for 'autonomy' against Spain's first FBR, and there were similar actions in March 1978 at Almele, Holland (40,000), in April 1978 in London (18,000), in April 1979 in Melbourne, Australia (over 12.0001 and May 1979 in imately 100 0i matuits iso: the Capitol, in the aftermath of the USA's worst nuclear disaster

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through the propaganda of various ecological groups, liberal

WINDSCALE NOW!