Prague - A paid volunteer could help the state counter the opposition of citizens who refuse to have nuclear waste deposited at their doorsteps.
The Radioactive Waste Repository Authority, which oversees the construction of underground repositories, has come up with just such a plan.
The "activist" would be responsible for convincing his or her neighbors to agree to a geological survey of the area. For the service, the volunteer would be paid a monthly salary of several thousand crowns by the organization.
"We would like to reach out to more local people through such a person," said Vítězslav Duda, director of the Radioactive Waste Repository Authority. He added that employees of the authority usually speak only with mayors or representatives and that a "local" would have a much better feel for the situation than bureaucrats in Prague.
The authority has already earmarked funds in next year's budget for paid volunteers and is now in negotiations with the Ministry of Industry.
The authority's council, on which sits the mayor of Dukovany and representatives from both the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry, has had no objections to the plan.
Referendum against waste
Several years ago experts singled out six areas that are suitable for the storage of highly radioactive material for as long as one hundred thousand years before it ceases to be a health threat. However, the majority of citizens don't want nuclear waste buried in their backyards. This sentiment has been broadly expressed in local referendums and petitions.
The authority has only achieved partial success. Representatives in Rohozná na Vysočině and in Lubenec on the edge of the Karlovarský region have agreed to have an information center about nuclear energy and spent fuel established in their areas.
Other municipalities are totally opposed to the idea and have not allowed any information centers to be set up. Spent nuclear fuel from the Temelín Nuclear Power Station ends up in the repository.
Although three municipalities in the Lubenec area have agreed to the geological survey, one of the conditions is that other areas in the remaining regions also agree to the proposal.
It smells of bribery
The Radioactive Waste Repository Authority intends to intensify its information campaign next year and plans on using paid volunteers to help achieve that end.
"From a moral point of view, it smells of bribery," commented Čestmír Vitner from the Bezjaderná Vysočina Association, which wants to prevent nuclear waste from ending up in the region. There are two areas suitable for the construction of an underground repository in the Vysočina region.
Vladimír Smolík, mayor of the town of Pačejov, which is also on the "nuclear" list, doesn't really believe that some of the locals would begin to work with the Radioactive Waste Repository Authority. "I can't imagine that locals would be up for that," said Smolík to Aktuálně.cz. "There is a lot of opposition to the repositories here."
Authority: People already interested
Vítězslav Duda, director of the Radioactive Waste Repository Authority, has said that people have already shown an interest. "We have noted the interest of some people who would be happy to work with us," commented Duda. Could these paid volunteers sour relations in the municipalities?
"Anyone who wants to start a conflict will always manage to," said Duda. František Venkrbec, mayor of Rohozná u Jihlavy, was the one who came up with the idea for a "pro-nuclear" activist.
"I think it's a good thing. Of course there is opposition to the repositories, but it's necessary that someone explain the problem to the people," said Venkrbec to Aktuálně.cz.
His municipality did not oppose the plan to establish an informational center about nuclear energy in Rohozná. "Here we have an information facility and it works very well," affirmed Venkrbec.
How public opinion changes
Last year the Radioactive Waste Repository Authority carried out a public opinion survey in each of the six regions chosen by experts as suitable for the storage of used nuclear fuel from Dukovany and Temelín. The results were not all that surprising: The majority of local citizens said NO to nuclear waste.
"Sixty to seventy percent of the population was opposed. Twenty five to thirty percent agreed to the repository," said Duda. He also said that the authority plans to carry out another survey in 2010.
Will the work of a paid volunteer be evident in the results? "We will see. We'll try it in any case," added Duda.
