nuclear-news

French nuclear compensation ‘too late for dead’

French nuclear compensation ‘too late for dead’ ABC News 25 March 09 By  Kerri Ritchie  Greenpeace says the French Government’s decision to compensate people made sick by its nuclear testing in the Pacific has come too late.France carried out 210 tests of nuclear bombs in Algeria and French Polynesia from 1960 until the mid 1990s.Some civilian and military workers who took part in the testing have since suffered from radiation-related illnesses.After long denying any official link between the tests and the serious health problems of veterans and workers, France has now agreed to an initial compensation package of $19 million.Former Greenpeace campaign leader Stephanie Mills says while it is a good gesture, the money will not go far.

“And [the compensation is] possibly overdue of course because many of the veterans and test site workers have already died,” she said.

Ms Mills says up to 150,000 people were exposed to the nuclear tests.

French nuclear compensation ‘too late for dead’ – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

March 25, 2009 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized