to protect marine mammals and other marine life from……….highly toxic materials like depleted uranium that have been deposited by the military.

Saving the world’s rarest seal from uranium, guardian Uk, 17 June 2010, Dr Anastasia Miliou was interviewed by Georgina Kenyon“....Greek conservationists from the Greek NGO, Archipelagos, work to protect endangered common dolphins and monk seals and also the region’s marine ecosystems from the effects of overfishing, shipping, and the military. Dr Anastasia Miliou, manager and head scientist from Archipelagos Institute of Marine and Environmental Research of the Aegean Sea, based on the Greek island of Samos in the eastern Aegean, explains about seals, uranium deposits and sonar  

The Mediterranean monk seal is the world’s rarest and most endangered marine mammal. Its population is less than 450 and one of the most important remaining populations survives in the Aegean region. We are urging fishing communities and authorities to understand that the marine biodiversity needs to be conserved, not only for the sake of productive marine ecosystems or the endangered species, but also for the benefit of human communities, whose livelihood depends on the health and productivity of the seas…………..
it is a big challenge trying to lobby governments, who control the military activity within international waters, to protect marine mammals and other marine life from the detrimental impacts of military sonars, but also from highly toxic materials like depleted uranium that have been deposited by the military. Archipelagos has created the only independent, non-profit laboratory in Greece, which aims to assess and detect potential pollution sources, which put ecosystems and people’s health in danger.

We are partly self-funded and partly financed by private donations – helping to fund our laboratory on Samos island and also our research boat that we use to go out into the sea and monitor water quality, soil and sediments, as well as animal and plant tissues.

Saving the world’s rarest seal from uranium | Environment | Guardian Weekly

Krümmel Accident Puts Question Mark over Germany’s Nuclear FutureBy SPIEGEL 13 July 09 The recent accident at the Krümmel nuclear power plant in northern Germany was more serious than was previously known. Anglea Merkel’s Christian Democrats are now finding themselves on the defensive with their plans to extend the life of German nuclear reactors………..

It was already awkward enough for Vattenfall that the accident, which resembled a similar breakdown two years ago, occurred after it had spent €300 million ($420 million) upgrading the plant. As in the 2007 incident, this time there was also a short circuit in a transformer. The reactor, which had just been started up, quickly had to be shut down again on Saturday, July 4.

Züfle was also forced to admit that the accident in the nuclear power plant was more serious than previously known. In addition to the transformer problem, he conceded, there was damage to “perhaps a few fuel elements,” namely the radioactive core of a nuclear power plant.

Atomic Nightmare: Krümmel Accident Puts Question Mark over Germany’s Nuclear Future – SPIEGEL ONLINE – News – International

Greece announces nuclear moratorium – edie.net by Sam Bond 11 Feb 09 “……………..environmental campaigners are claiming victory after Greek development minister Kostis Hatzidakis ruled out future investment in nuclear and, perhaps more importantly, coal-fired power plants.

WWF Greece was part of a coalition that has been fighting a ‘no to coal’ campaign amid a will-they-won’t-they saga over government backing for coal plants and rumours that the ruling administration planned to introduce nuclear power to the country’s energy mix.

Demetres Karavellas, chief executive of the NGO, said: “We feel that our efforts to prove that Greece does not need coal power plants and nuclear energy have been justified. Today, we can be more optimistic that Greece might make the necessary shift towards a more sustainable and competitive green economy.”

The government change of stance on the issue was signalled by legislative changes to streamline and assist investment in renewable energy and by Mr Hatzidakis emerging from a cabinet meeting in late January to say “We want 2009 to be the year of renewable energy sources .”

Greece announces nuclear moratorium