Nuclear convoy faces protest

Nuclear waste continues to move across Europe despite protests

LA HAGUE, France -- Police have clashed with anti-nuclear protesters trying to prevent the biggest-ever shipment of spent nuclear fuel from Germany to nuclear power plants in France and Britain.

The shipment started its journey from the German nuclear power plant Philippsburg in Baden on Wednesday afternoon to make its way to the French and British reprocessing plants La Hague and Sellafield.

The shipment, which originally comprised 12 wagons, split in two shortly after crossing into France.

Three wagons made their way to Sellafield, while nine containers headed off for La Hague.

The transport encountered demonstrations by anti-nuclear activists in France and Germany.

Around 20 Green party militants blocked the train briefly after they chained themselves to the track in the northern French city of Darnetal.

On Wednesday evening, five activists chained themselves to the tracks at Bischeim train station, close to France's border with Germany before being quickly removed by police.

Germany restarted the transport of nuclear waste for reprocessing abroad in April after a three-year break had been imposed by the previous German government after radiation leaks were found in some containers.

Excessive radiation was found on transport of nuclear waste sent to reprocessing plants at Sellafield and La Hague.

The restart is the result of the Atom Consensus, an agreement between the German federal government and the power industry on the abandonment of nuclear energy by 2020.

The consensus allows the reprocessing of spent fuel rods abroad to continue until 2005.

As part of the agreement, Germany accepts to take back reprocessed waste for temporary storage at Gorleben.