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Ships carrying nuke wastes sailed near CNMI waters
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Posted on Oct 29 1999
The chairman of the House Federal and Foreign Relations Committee yesterday expressed concern over the potential impact of allowing ships carrying nuclear wastes to pass within the territorial waters of the CNMI without informing the island government.
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Rep. Melvin O. Faisao said the federal government should have brought to the attention of the Commonwealth on instances when it permits these ships to pass in the Western Pacific region
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According to Faisao, based on the information received by his office, there ships carrying “large amounts of weapons grade plutonium” that sailed from Europe to Japan on July 2 and came within a few hundreds miles of the CNMI — with U.S. blessing.
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“I am very concerned that we were not officially informed and given the chance to be heard on this matter,” the representative said in a statement.
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He maintained nuclear shipments through the Pacific region are projected to increase in the next few years, and so his office has come up with a comprehensive report to alert the public.
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It explains “just what this nuclear material is and most importantly what would happen in the event of an accident at sea,” added Faisao.
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“Unlike other sovereign island states such as Palau or the Marshalls, the CNMI does not have the ability to regulate the shipment of hazardous material through our waters,” he said.
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In an interview, Faisao pointed out the federal government must acknowledge the impact of such shipment to its territories and work with local governments to safeguard the people and their resources in case of nuclear accident.
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“I hope that the people of the Commonwealth will now start to consider how serious this problem is, and that we can address it in a meaningful way in the near future,” he said.
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His office will provide copies of the report to those interested.
