Nuclear waste sites set for thumbs down Add your comments
Last updated at 15:56, Tuesday, 25 August 2009
TWO local sites earmarked for radioactive waste disposal are set to get the thumbs down from Cumbria County Council even though one – at Lillyhall – has already taken small amounts.
Cabinet councillors next week are expected to approve a recommendation that the low level radioactive waste is kept at Sellafield rather than sent to Keekle Head or Lillyhall.
But it emerged yesterday that the Lillyhall site already has low level waste buried under it and will not need planning permission to dispose of any more.
Tim Knowles, county council cabinet member for the environment, told The Whitehaven News: “The difference is that they are talking about a massive increase in volume.
“This is wrong, it is not in the interests of the community. We would hope that at the end of the day the NDA does not allow proliferation in this way.”
Waste Recyling Group and Energy Solutions have applied to the Environment Agency for a new authorisation, and if this is granted could be taking very low levels by the end of the year.
WRG’s external affairs general manager Mike Snell said: “Our belief is that under the Radioactive Substances Act we don’t need planning permission to go ahead.”
But yesterday Coun Knowles said: “Sellafield waste should be dealt with at Sellafield. What we don’t want is a proliferation of radioactive waste, it should not be put in holes around West Cumbria and imposed on people.”
At Keekle Head, French company subsidiary Endecom is already drilling boreholes to see whether it will be suitable. It also has an agreement to buy the derelict 173-acre site. The firm recently presented its plans to local councillors and environmental experts and will need planning permission as a former opencast coal site.
Public presentations are also being arranged for Distington and Moresby pending a full planning application.
Waste Recycling Group and Energy Solutions have the support of Distington parish council for the Lillyhall landfill to be used. Since 1972 the site has been taking non-hazardous household and commercial waste as well as the small amounts of slightly radioactive material in the past.
Main sources of the waste would be Sellafield Ltd, Chapelcross and LLWR at Drigg, the country’s only designated disposal site for low level radioactive waste. But in order to free up more space at Drigg and allow the site to operate for another 60 years, the government is looking for alternative disposal routes such as landfill. These would take very low levels of radioactive waste.
Consultations on the national strategy to manage future arisings of waste will close on September 11. Cabinet members will consider a county council response on the lines that “LLW produced at Sellafield should be disposed of near to Sellafield and should not be dispersed in sites further afield in West Cumbria.”
Although the county council wants to see a reduction in the volume of waste for final disposal, it says “there should be a more proactive approach from the NDA to manage the material on site at nuclear installations.”
The NDA has pledged £1.5million a year towards Copeland community benefits for every year the Drigg site continues to operate, with a £10 million kick start.
WRG and Energy Solutions are now planning a “drop in” for people to learn more about the plans in Distington community centre on September 18 (12 noon to 8pm).
First published at 15:50, Wednesday, 19 August 2009
Published by http://www.whitehaven-news.co.uk
Sounds as if the pro-nuclear people in the UK are just the same as the pro-nuclear people everywhere else.
What you do with so-called "low-level" radioactive waste is this: you dump it on the land of the peasantry. I guess that Cumbrians are the peasantry of the UK.
In Australia, we prefer to dump it on the land of the aboriginal people. We do that now, and the next plan is to take in high-level waste from rich overseas nations, (making our corporate high-flyers very rich), and dump that waste on the aboriginal people.
It's a great system, isn't it?
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well done for ccc who only seem to be listerning to the local people. we do not want to be a bigger dump than we already are the district councils only want the bribe money!!!! jamie reed has railroaded the new build facilities on our greenland in stead of brown field sites at sellafield. people nearby are being forced out of their homes or they will be compulsory purchased.
what effect will these power stations be on the environment. ugly monsters on the landscape. we have tried to make west cumbria a better place to live but now we are going to be one big dump with tourism totally overlooked and underfunded. The energy coast is nuclear only build. ultermately by foriegners. making a profit out of us. no doubt built by cheap foriegn labour.even the wind turbines are built by foriengners. the energy coast is a place to put things made outside the uk why can,t we build them here!! the environment is last on jamies list. nuclear power will only last another 60 years then cumbria will be left with 4 highly redioactive facilities where are they to be dumped no doubt jamie will have raisen up in labours ranks and moved to the south well away from radioactive cumbria, we only need one instilation built at sellafied to sustain jobs let other areas take the fallout!!!
Posted by g short on 27 August 2009 at 00:01