Time to bury nuclear power not just nuclear waste

Mannin (Isle of Man) Branch of the Celtic League recently had an item reporting on an article in the investigative news site 'The Ferret' about the dangers posed by ageing nuclear reactors (see below). Some of which are located within Celtic nations or close to them, such as those on the Irish Sea coastline. The danger posed by nuclear power though is not just posed by another potential disastrous Chernobyl type accident, and as the Celtic League report points out this is a real possibility. There is also the whole issue of nuclear waste, as the environmental organisation Greenpeace points out: "this waste is produced at every stage of the nuclear fuel cycle, from uranium mining and enrichment, to reactor operation and the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel. Much of this nuclear waste will remain hazardous for hundreds of thousands of years."

Since the time that humans have been producing nuclear waste, there has been a failure in solving the problem of how to dispose of it. It is estimated that over a quarter of a million tons of hazardous nuclear waste exists that requires "final" storage. That figure is added to annually by some 12,000 tons. This will increase as further planned nuclear power plants are built. Greenpeace make the point that: "the current “solution” for dealing with highly radioactive nuclear waste involves burying it in deep underground sites. Whether the storage containers, the store itself, or the surrounding rocks will offer enough protection to stop radioactivity from escaping in the long-term is impossible to predict."

Nuclear energy is both expensive and dangerous, which has no place in a safe, clean and sustainable future. We need to move away from nuclear power and this is entirely possible. Electricity generation on a large scale could be achieved by developing a number of other cleaner alternatives. These include combined heat and power (CHP), using fossil fuels more cleanly and efficiently, and renewable electricity generation such as wind, wave and tidal power. Renewable energy is better for the environment, the economy, and doesn’t come with the risk of a nuclear meltdown, which as the article below points out, is a constant concern.

"HUNTERSTON B ‘ANOTHER POTENTIAL CHERNOBYL’ FEAR"

"More worrying news about the United Kingdom's ageing nuclear reactors which have repeatedly had their operational life extended despite safety concerns. Again its Hunterston in the new but other sites such as Heysham in Lancs are also potential trouble spots.

There is a report here from investigative news site ‘The Ferret’ which cites anti nuclear campaigners in Cumbria concerned about another potential Chernobyl:

Anti-nuclear campaigners from Cumbria are planning to hand in a letter to EDF at Hunterston this weekend calling for reactors three and four to be “mothballed for good”. They fear that the plant risks an accident similar to that at Chernobyl in Ukraine in 1986.

Here is the link to the full report:

https://theferret.scot/hunterston-nuclear-plant-four-safet…/

Also a link here to the latest Office for Nuclear Regulation quarterly report:

http://www.onr.org.uk/llc/2019/hunterston-b-2.pdf

Bernard Moffatt
Celtic League"

About this website

THEFERRET.SCOT

Probes into four safety incidents at Hunterston nuclear plant

Investigations have been launched into four safety incidents at the Hunterston B nuclear power station in North Ayrshire.