Thu. December 15, 2011
Hinkley – in Wales’ Backyard Too
Reports highlighting serious concerns over potential nuclear discharges from proposed new nuclear developments at Hinkley on the coast of Somerset – and 30 miles from the coast of South Wales have been submitted this week on behalf of the Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA), CND Cymru and the Stop Hinkley Campaign. The submissions to the Environment Agency include major concerns over the planned radioactive marine discharges and aerial emissions (1).
Despite claims of a higher incidence of breast cancer and infant mortality in the vicinity of the existing Hinkley nuclear plant (2), and concerns over flooding in the region, plans for new nuclear reactors at Hinkley are already in motion. These will be the first of eight new nuclear power stations to be built in Britain.
The reports, based on research by Welsh independent marine pollution consultant, Tim Deere-Jones(3); and independent consultant on radiation in the environment, Dr Ian Fairlie (4) conclude that there are major data gaps concerning radioactivity concentrations along the entirety of the Bristol Channel coast. They point out concerns regarding the potential impact of Hinkley C (and Oldbury B in Gloucestershire) radioactive waste discharges on residents in and environment of coastal zones of Wales and England.
The submissions, endorsed by Caroline Lucas MP (and the Green Party of England and Wales), Martin Caton MP (Gower), Paul Flynn MP (Newport) and Jill Evans MEP, respond to an Environment Agency request for comments on the permitted levels of discharge into the marine environment and into the atmosphere from proposed new nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point.
The Infrastructure Planning Commission is also separately considering a 30,000 page planning application by EDF for developing reactors at the site.
Other key conclusions from the submissions include:
- That there is a failure to address issues arising from climate change and the risks of severe flooding / inundation events.
- According to the Environment Agency’s EPR Assessment Report in 2009, it is expected that each year the proposed nuclear reactor would emit to air 500 GBq (5) of tritium; 350 GBq of carbon-14; 800 GBq of radioactive noble gases and 50 MBq of radioiodines. This would increase Hinkley B’s current gaseous emissions by 20% (H-3) to 30% (C-14).
- The largest aerial emissions are usually of tritium in the form of tritiated water vapour, i.e. radioactive water. Tritium is the radioactive form of hydrogen.
- In November 2011, German data revealed large spikes in radioactive gas releases during the refuelling of Nuclear Power Plants. Higher doses from these nuclide spikes go a long way to explaining the increased incidences of child leukaemias near Nuclear Power Plants shown by the German Government’s KiKK (6) findings.
- More consideration should be given to improving and making FULLY transparent the monitoring programme. The public has no opportunity to protect their health through being informed on daily discharge levels and there is no mechanism whereby the public can hold both site operators AND the regulators to account.
- That the proposed nuclear power stations would be increased dangers to the health of populations of both Wales and England.
- That the proposed development in its current form should be rejected outright.
CND Cymru, along with the Wales Anti Nuclear Alliance (WANA), Friends of the Earth Cymru, Pobl Atal Wylfa B (PAWB) and other groups in Wales have long campaigned against nuclear power. Hinkley Point is just a few miles across the Bristol Channel from Wales, and as the first of eight new nuclear power stations to be built in Britain holds particular significance to those opposed to nuclear power. Any discharge or accident at Hinkley Point would affect Wales as much as Somerset. The lethal effects of radionucleides know no national boundaries.
Many residents in South Wales are concerned for the possible effects on their children’s health and future. Visits by aid workers from south Wales to Belarus to take medicines and support to victims of the Chernobyl nuclear accident revealed just how the terrible are the risks which accompany nuclear power plants.
CND Cymru National Secretary Jill Gough commented:
“All of us who care about the health and well being of our environment and our children and grandchildren are in the mainstream.”
“We are proud to be part of this call for common sense – alongside the Nuclear Free Local Authorities, Friends of the earth and Stop Hinkley.”
“It is time we human beings learnt our lesson. Nuclear power is a risk too great to take. There are alternatives. We should start by thinking hard about our addiction to the idea of ‘economic growth’ and remember that all of the earth’s resources are finite.”
For further information and interview opportunities with Tim Deere-Jones, Ian Fairlie or the groups that have co-sponsored this submission, contact Sean Morris, NFLA Secretary on 00 44 (0)161 234 3244 or 00 44 (0)7771 930196.
CND Cymru (Jill Gough) 01239 85 11 88 m: 07704 675787 heddwch@cndcymru.org
Cllr. Ray Davies Vice Chair CND Cymru and member of the NFLA Wales 02920 889 514
Also:
Stop Hinkley (Crispin Aubrey) t: 01278 732921 m: 07920 523673
Notes:
(1) The NFLA/CND Cymru/Stop Hinkley submissions to the Environment Agency are available from CND Cymru (heddwch@cndcymru.org).
(2) Cancer Mortality and Proximity to Hinkley Point Nuclear Power Station 1995-1998 http://stophinkley.org/Health/CancMort&ProxHinkPt3.pdf http://www.llrc.org/health/subtopic/hinkley.htm
(3) Tim Deere-Jones is an independent marine pollution consultant who lives in Pembrokeshire. He has worked previously for Greenpeace International, Friends of the Earth, Marinet and the World Wildlife Fund. He is a member of the Nuclear Consulting Group.
(4) Dr Ian Fairlie is an independent consultant on the effects of radioactivity in the environment who lives in London. He is the former scientific secretary to the British Government’s Committee Examining Radiation Risks from Internal Emitters (CERRIE). He has worked on occupational health hazards for the Trades Union Congress and has been a radiation advisor to Greenpeace Canada.
(5) A becquerel (Bq) is a unit of radioactivity: it means one nuclear disintegration (or decay) per second. Each disintegration results in the emission of radiation. One GBq means one billion disintegrations per second, and one MBq means one million disintegrations per second.
(6) KiKK-study (Kinderkrebs in der Umgebung von Kernkraftwerken – Childhood Cancer in the Vicinity of Nuclear Power Plants). Credit goes to Christine Kamm MP in Munich, and the Green Party in Germany for obtaining this data, and to Dr Alfred Korblein in Nuremburg and scientists in IPPNW Germany for analysing it.
