Defeated candidates cry foul

More than 70 small towns and villages close to the sites of Spain's six nuclear plants have announced that they will contest the decision to build the ATC temporary nuclear waste plant in Villar de Cañas. The village in Cuenca province was initially a dark horse in the selection process launched by the previous Socialist government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.

Calling the decision "unfair," the Association of Municipalities in Areas with Nuclear Plants (AMAC), said last week: "Our mayors are very unhappy; this decision has been taken without their input, despite their having cooperated all through the process. They believe that neither the economic nor technical conditions of their areas have been taken into account," in the words of Gerardo Casado, the body's spokesman.

Casado also stated that the government had previously required candidate areas to be located on a railway link: "This would considerably reduce transport costs," he said.

Casado went on to point out that Villar de Cañas was initially the government's last choice, behind Zarra, Ascó, and Yebra, all of which are situated close to existing nuclear plants, and which have stored material in cooling tanks for many years.

"In reality, the decision has been based on political considerations. It was a carve-up between the regional government and the central administration," he said of the two Popular Party-run authorities.

AMAC has called for a meeting with Industry Minister José Manuel Soria. "Our appeal will go ahead. We are fed up with talking, and we will not drop this until the improved terms we talked about over recent years are kept to," Casado declared.