BILATERAL ETHICS:

Swedish Vattenfall in controversy over mine workers health in Namibia

subscriber | 17 May, 2010

Swedish mainly state owned energy company Vattenfall's import of uranium from Namibia has shown the difficulty of being a nation of good-doers at all levels. The company is blamed for not worrying enough for Namibian mine workers health, but passes on some of the responsibility to the Swedish Governments recently implemented "partner cooperation" policy which recommends increased trade with Namibia.

In this case a report by a Namibian think tank, stating that Namibian workers are exposed to unacceptable levels of radiation which runs against a newly implemented Swedish partner co-operation policy pointing out Namibia as a favoured trading nation.

 Swedish Vattenfall states in its defense of the company's purchase of uranium from Namibia that it fulfills all environmental, workplace and legal requirements after criticism in a report that Namibian mine workers are not adequately protected.

The company's head of environment, Agneta Rising, states that pictures broadcasted on a Swedish news channel, following a report on labour conditions at the Rössing mine, were "strong" but that Vattenfall stands by its decision to purchase from Namibia, which is one of four supplier of uranium to Vattenfall operated nuclear power plants. The other supplier countries are Canada, Australia and Russia.

Ms Rising states hat controls are very tight before any contras are entered into, including that the Vattenfall gets full insight into the suppliers operations.

"Radiation levels at the Rössing mine are on par with the natural background radiation levers. At these levers there is no correlation between radiation and health concerns", states Agneta Rising.

Vattenfall's view is contradicted by a report by the Labour Resource and Research Institute in Namibia which states that workers in the uranium mines run the risk of being exposed to radiation, but when they get sick they have great difficulty to prove that there is a correlation and therefore they don't get paid compensation.

The report, by the institutes head Hilma Shindondola-Mote, also states that workers are generally badly informed about the health risks they run.

As the nuclear power is on the rise, due to carbon emission related global warming the nuclear energy industry will find itself becoming ever more scrutinized not the least by think tanks and the media.

Vattenfall states it doesn't takes political decisions, but relies on the Swedish Foreign office for guidance. And the Swedish Governments officially adopted line is to encourage trade with the South West African desert nation through its freshly adopted policy of so called partnership cooperation - a policy that replaces development co-operation in countries that are too rich to benefit from financial assistance.

With some 20 percent of Vattenfall's uranium needs supplied by Namibia, uranium is the South West African desert Nations major export to Sweden by far.