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Nuclear Free Pacific – a call from Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC)

Pacific Church Body Pushes For Nuclear-Free Region Call comes as Japan reveals nuclear waste leaking into Pacific WELLINGTON, New Zealand (Radio New Zealand International, August 8, 2013) – The Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC) says regional leaders must urgently revive calls for a nuclear-free Pacific.

The PCC call comes amid revelations by the Japanese government that radioactive waste from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant has been leaking into the Pacific Ocean for two years.

The PCC’s general secretary, the Reverend Francois Pihaatae, says Pacific churches have for nearly four decades consistently called for a nuclear-free Pacific and they renew this call today.

He says Japan has a moral responsibility to keep the region informed of what is happening with the waste and what is being done to contain the seepage.

The Reverend Pihaatae, who is from French Polynesia, draws parallels with the French territory’s failure to properly deal with the impact of nuclear tests there.

“That issue has not been really been taken seriously by our local government, but the impacts and the damage that the nuclear waste will do upon our people in the Pacific, because it is leaking and it will be spreading all over our ocean.”  Radio New Zealand International: www.rnzi.com

August 10, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | OCEANIA, Religion and ethics