IRISH BLOCKADES   SHUT DOWN SELLAFIELD

The Sellafield nuclear fuel reprocessing plant on the Cumbrian coast of northwest England has long polluted the Irish Sea. The Irish Shut Down Sellafield campaign has mobilized nuclear resisters across the Sea three times since November, most recently on February 14, when their action lived up to their name.

About 200 people converged on the plant by 6 a.m. blocking the main access road and a nearby roundabout leading to the second gate. Thousands of workers, many one per car, quickly clogged the only remaining narrow lane into the plant, and by 7:30 a.m., traffic was at a standstill, up to seven miles away. Three schools were closed and the train stopped running when signaling staff could not get to their station.

Most of the Irish protest - three motor coaches full - had just the day before been in Risley, Cheshire, where a delegation sought to deliver their petition for Sellafield's closure, signed by 10,000 Irish, to British Nuclear Fuel headquarters. The same petition - with just 5,000 signatures - was brought to the Sellafield plant in November, and the delegation's simple request for a meeting was rebuffed. The petition - now 7,000 signatures - was again refused at the door in December, and activists staged a small blockade at the north gate to press their point that the plant must close.

Still, police seemed unprepared for the Valentine's Day blockade and street party/protest, and especially the pipe-and-chain equipment that linked one group of resisters. One woman's hand was broken in the rough, ill-equipped effort to break up the blockade. By mid-day, eleven people had been arrested, and police and protesters agreed they were both tired and hungry.

Police agreed that those arrested would be released after protesters left the access roads. All were released by late afternoon and no charges filed. The three coaches then returned to Ireland with all their passengers.

Recent anti-terrorism legislation in Britain makes it a crime to publicize nuclear waste shipments to Sellafield. Cumbrians Opposed to a Radioactive Environment vows not to be gagged, and will continue informing the public about the risk to the public of impending shipments.