In a nuclear reactor, huge quantities of radio­active atoms are created – to the extent that the waste fuel rods that are taken out of the reac­tors are so lethal that they would almost immediately kill someone if they were to be anywhere near.

The nuclear industry relies on “shielding” in order to stop the wastes killing people in such a direct way. However some of the waste will still be radioactive one million years into the future, and even though the waste would be much less intensely radioactive after that time, people would still need to be protected from it.

In the 1990s the UK Radioactive Waste orga­nisation “Nirex” planned to begin digging at their planned burial site – near the Sellafield plu­tonium plant in Cumbria.

However, they needed to get planning per­mis­sion before they could start, and because the local Council didn’t want the dump, there needed to be a planning inquiry. Ho­wever, as the nuclear industry’s technical case was completely hopeless the plan was thrown out.

The project was rejected both by the Plan­ning Inspectors and also the Secretary of State for the Environment. Overall, the Inspector concluded that the Nuclear In­dustry should not be given the go-ahead: “in [their] current state of inadequate know­ledge”.

Roll forward to 2010, and in March 2010 “Nuclear Waste Advisory Associates” [a bunch of RadWaste Geeks who were invol­ved in the campaigns of the 1980s/90s] sub­mitted an “Issues Register” to the Environ­ment Agency which listed over one hundred scientific and technical problems with the dump plans. Even the “NDA” (the Nuclear “Decommisioning” Authority) which is supposed to be pulling the dump project together are at a loss as to whether or not they could dump waste safely.

For the planned “New Build” reactors the pro­blems would be even worse. Of course more reactors would equal yet more waste – but on top of that the waste would be diffe­­rent. It would be hotter and also more radio­toxic. This is because the industry wants to hammer the fuel for even longer in the reac­tor to get more electricity out of it.

The Government is afraid to let any of these problems be scrutinised by the plan­ning system – and they have gone to a very great deal of trouble to overhaul the whole of the planning system.

People aren’t stupid. The Nuclear Industry is completely clueless about how to deal with the extraordinarily dangerous toxins that they want to create. People will realise this – and then the nuclear industry will not get away with their absurd plans for New Build.

Rachel Western

More information at http://www.nuclearwasteadvisory.co.uk/