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Five more good reasons to prohibit the transit of highly radioactive and radio-toxic material through Panama

by the Civil Society Initiative for the Environment

6. The Republic of Panama isn't prepared to confront the grave consequences of a nuclear accident.

7. Precisely because of the uncertainty over the scope of radiation's effects, this risk is excluded from transportation insurance policies. Moreover, it's hard to conceive of the companies that own or transport such cargoes to be in any real position to assume the high costs --- multi-millions in compensation and truly exorbitant costs for damages caused by a nuclear accident.

8. The Republic of Panama doesn't produce energy with nuclear technology, so it's unjust to expose the Panamanian people to the enormous danger that the transport of highly radioactive and radio-toxic materials originating and bound for countries that do use this technology.

9. The economic benefits that the transport of these highly radioactive and radio-toxic materials produce for the Republic of Panama are scant - about $8,000 per transit - while the potential harms include effects on tourism (cruise ships, for example), at a time when our country is trying to stimulate environmentally sustainable economic alternatives. There could be a great impact on micro-, small- and medium-sized businesses, and in the creation of jobs and other sources of income for our citizens.

10. Since December 31, 1999, the Republic of Panama has exercised sovereignty over all of its territory, and it's not viable to reduce the implications of this delicate subject to the canal, that is, only to the interior waters of the transit zone, which extent only three nautical miles into each ocean.

ISCA:
- Asociaciones Civicas Unidas para la Reforestacion de Panama (ACU)
- Asociacion Oceanica de Panama (AOP)
- Asociacion Verde de Panama (ASVEPA)
- Centro de Asistencia Legal Popular (CEALP)
- Centro de Estudios y Accion Social Panameqo (CEASPA)
- Asociacion Derecho y Ecologia (DEECO)
- Defensa Ambiental - Fundacion para el Desarrollo de la Libertad Ciudadana
- Sociedad Audubon de Panama (SAP) - Union de Ciudadanas de Panama (UCP)
- Observer: Comision de Justicia y Paz

E-mail: isca@yahoogroups.com