30,000 sign petition to clean up 40-year-old nuclear leak

A CAMPAIGN to collect signatures driven by Ecologists in Action to demand the governments of Spain and the United States decontaminate Palomares from plutonium has reached 30,000 in just one month.

The village of Palomares in Cuevas del Almanzora has been contaminated since 1966 following an accident involving an American B52 bomber in which four nuclear bombs leaked radioactive material into the soil. Although the bombs were swiftly removed contamination remains, claim environmentalists.

The text of the petition states: “To avoid radiation exposure in Palomares requires preliminary cleaning and decontamination. The government cannot shirk its responsibility to protect the population.” It goes on to state that plutonium from the atomic bombs continues to spread throughout the area.

The online petition criticises the lack of governmental interest and demands action in accordance with national and international regulations on the storage of radioactive material.

A spokesman for Ecologists in Action says that the online petition on Change.org has reached 30,000 supporting signatures although the goal is to reach 100,000.