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Protest growing against uranium storage plant at Aldermaston

(UK) Anti-nuclear protestors dressed as Romans visit council offices to object to proposed development at AWE Green Reading  5 Feb 2010 A Group of ‘Romans’ visited the West Berkshire Council offices bearing ‘gifts’ of radio-active waste. The Romans were, infact, members of the Nuclear Information Service (NIS), a pressure group, who are protesting against the latest development at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE).

Dressed in Roman gear and carrying black bins, with radioactive labels on them, they stood outside the office bringing attention to their cause.Peter Burt, director of the NIS, said the group decided to dress up like the Romans because they left a rich history, in Britain, that people could be proud of – unlike the “poisoned” environment people of today would leave future generations.He added: “Thousands of visitors enjoy travelling to the Roman amphitheatre and ruins at Silchester every year. “But how would it be, if instead of leaving us these fascinating historical sites, they left behind their toxic radioactive waste and a poisoned environment for us to inherit? “That is exactly what we are planning to do with the waste that will be created by AWE’s Project Pegasus. Because, we have devised no method of disposing of this waste in a way which is safe and poses no risks to the environment.
“Our historical view of the Romans would be very different if they had been irresponsible enough to have left us with the expense and danger of managing their unwanted radioactive wastes, yet that is exactly what we are planning to do for the generations who follow us.”

Project Pegasus is a multi-million pound development proposed by AWE which will provide long-term capability for the storage and handling of enriched uranium, a naturally occurring heavy metal enriched for use in nuclear weapons, at the Aldermaston site.

More than 900 objections have been received and a decision about the development is due to be made by members of the eastern area planning committee in the coming weeks. A recent survey of 550 residents carried out by local environmental groups, including the NIS, showed that 60 per cent believed the development should not go ahead. Ninety per-cent said they would like information about the environmental and safety impacts of the development to be made public before permission to build the facility is given.

Green Reading: Anti-nuclear protestors dressed as Romans visit council offices to object to proposed development at AWE

February 6, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, UK | antinuclear, enriched, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear wastes, radioactive, uranium