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KERNOW/CORNWALL: DEPRIVED COMMUNITIES 'BLACKMAILED' TO HOST NUCLEAR DUMP SITES

The Celtic League has expressed concern to the European Environment Agency about the inducements that the United Kingdom government offer to depressed communities to induce them to 'host' nuclear dump

Par Cathal Ó Luain pour Celtic League le 4/02/09 4:07

The League are concerned that the process amounts to a form of economic blackmail and it also has concerns about the transparency of the procedure to assess the suitability of sites which are offered (see below):

"Christian FischerWaste Management European Environment Agency Hoejbro Plads 4, Mezzaninen 1200 Copenhagen K, Denmark

chrfi [at] ...

24/01/09

Dear Christian Fischer

Geological disposal of nuclear waste (UK)

I am writing to you to raise our concerns about the current planned procedure of finding sites for storing and disposing of nuclear waste within UK territory.

The UK Government recently put out a request to local government (councils) asking them to register an 'expression of interest' if they would consider hosting a geological disposal facility for nuclear waste at some point in the future. For the Celtic League, one of the dangers and moral implications involved in the UK Government doing this is that relatively poor councils will seriously consider the request, despite a lack of potentially suitable geological sites, for the sake of the potential investment that such a facility could bring to the area.

We are aware that under Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs guidelines, if an expression of interest is registered by any council to hold such waste, the British Geological Survey (BGS) would be asked to carry out a sub surface assessment to ascertain if the ground was suitable for such purposes. However our issue of concern here is that the BGS is not a fully independent body, because it receives half of its budget from public funds. Consequently we believe that the BGS may have a vested interest in approving some sites that have been earmarked by the UK Government, because of their rural location and economic 'appropriateness' for storing nuclear waste.

Cornwall County Council has recently announced that it is willing to consider the request from the UK Government for a chance to host a geological disposal facility for radioactive waste, despite the fact that such an idea has been rejected on two previous occasions. As you will be aware, Cornwall is a rural area and its geology is riddled with old and very deep mine workings and shafts. Therefore on the face of it the geology of Cornwall would seem to be highly suitable for storing hazardous waste. Indeed it is widely believed that the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has secretly used these old mine shafts in the past to dispose of and/or contain waste.

However, there are many unrecorded mine workings throughout Cornwall, including shafts that lead directly from the mine working to the coast and for this reason the concept of storing radioactive waste underground in Cornwall has been totally dismissed by previous Cornwall County Council committees. It is with mounting concern to our organisation then, that this issue is once again being discussed by Cornwall County Council.

One additional concern for us in the disposal of nuclear waste is how the waste will be transported from its source to its place of disposal. I am sure you would agree that in terms of sustainable production and consumption it is better to dispose of hazardous waste close to the point of its source. We would argue for this reason alone that in rural areas like Cornwall that are several hours drive from the nearest nuclear power station and also have a poor transport infrastructure, are not suited for the disposal of nuclear waste.

The unsuitability of using Cornwall to store hazardous waste can be seen possibly by the recent news that military chemical detector kits, which have a NATO serial number and are potentially hazardous, were washed up on the Cornish coast. The Celtic League has written to the MOD to ask if the kits were part of a previous disposal of hazardous waste in Cornwall by the MOD and we are currently awaiting a reply.

Disused mine-shafts in Cornwall have been used in the past to dispose of hazardous waste, as in the case of Nancekuke (also known as RAF Portreath), which the MOD was forced to clean up. Our concerns for the suitability of the geological disposal of nuclear waste in Cornwall, are well grounded and shared by many others.

The pressure applied by the UK Government, in the form of potentially large financial incentives to local authorities that administer very poor areas, like Cornwall, is morally objectionable. Areas like Cornwall (and indeed areas like Cumbria too) that have been deliberately starved of inward investment are, in short, being blackmailed into taking this type of environmentally unstable project.

For the reasons stated above, the Celtic League would like to request that the EEA closely monitor how the UK Government disposes of its nuclear waste in the future. We would like in particular for the EEA to monitor any developments in the discussion of creating a geologic depository for nuclear waste in Cornwall for the reasons stated above.

In addition, we would like the European Environment Agency (EEA) to ask the UK Government how a public funded body like the BGS can be counted on to provide independent and impartial advice on the adequate disposal of nuclear waste, especially when the financial stakes are so high for local authorities and central government alike. For this reason we have also copied this letter to the BGS and the UK Environment Minister for their information.

Many thanks in advance.

Yours sincerely

Rhisiart Tal-e-bot General Secretary Celtic League"

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