Above: the Caribbean Sea (CJ Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

St Lucia Prime Minister and current CARICOM Chairman Dr Kenny Anthony is intensifying calls for a halt to the shipment of hazardous waste through the Caribbean sea.

Anthony was speaking Friday ahead of the transshipment of Vitrified High Level Waste from the United Kingdom to Japan through the Caribbean Sea.

“The United Kingdom’s imminent shipment of radioactive waste follows 14 such shipments to date, each of which has been strenuously objected to by CARICOM Heads of Government, Caribbean business communities and civil society,” Anthony said in a statement. “In this regard, the region is particularly disappointed by the continued disregard shown by the United Kingdom for the objections to such shipments given the historical relations which the Caribbean shares with the United Kingdom.”

Anthony said CARICOM viewed the move “with the greatest concern.”

“The Caribbean Sea constitutes not only a part of the way of life of the Caribbean people but also a principal source of livelihood and socioeconomic activity,” he said. “CARICOM intensifies its call upon all those involved to halt these shipments given the risk they pose to the lives and livelihoods of the Caribbean people.”

The call echoes that made by St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister and then-CARICOM Chair Dr Denzil Douglas, who called the passage “unacceptable and injurious.”

The United Kingdom, France and Japan are among those who have made such transports.