nuclear-news

The Changing Goal Posts of Nuclear Wastes Crazily Earmarked for “Geological Disposal” 

The following letter was sent today to Millom Town Council, 25 Jan 25

Dear Millom Town Council,  https://www.lakesagainstnucleardump.com/post/the-changing-goal-posts-of-nuclear-wastes-crazily-earmarked-for-geological-disposal?fbclid=IwY2xjawICTXlleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHWDa6iKJTxgb1u_COakguo-hVWv_CT2cBRlX-wVUg_Wd-lqCQfqxLTgIfg_aem_t_oZpoP7Jtg_1l8K9L53Jw

The Changing Goal Posts of Nuclear Waste Geological Disposal 

Lakes Against Nuclear Dump is a Radiation Free Lakeland campaign with a Facebook group of almost 1000 many of whom live in the Millom area.

We would like to thank Millom Town Council for voting to pull out of the so called “Community Partnership” with Nuclear Waste Services.  The developer NWS has one aim and that is to deliver a “Geological Disposal Facility.”  Nuclear Waste Services are proving to be the very worst of developers.  We all know of developers who put in an application for works to get initial approval knowing full well the goal posts are to be changed later down the line.  The latest being to bury 140 tonnes of plutonium.  The US is looking to bury a far smaller stockpile of plutonium at WIPP,  this has generated criticism from the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists and others concerned with nuclear safety,  We assume the burial of plutonium was a NDA decision rather than a “Community Partnership” decision.  

This is all a far cry from the 1990s NIREX days. The nuclear wastes slated for burial then on what is now the Wasdale Mountain Rescue Centre at Longlands Farm, Gosforth were low and intermediate.  A long public inquiry involving multiple scientists and geologists found the NIREX plan for burial of low and intermediate level nuclear wastes to be ultimately flawed and dangerous to public health.  The nuclear dump mission creep now includes plutonium.   Deep burial and abandonment of long lived nuclear wastes is not a safe option given the shortfalls in the technical and scientific knowledge of permanent containment.  The wastes should be constantly monitored and repackaged when necessary.  The push for burial in a very large, very deep (and earthquake inducing) sub-sea mine is a purely political choice in order to justify new nuclear wastes.

We believe you will be ratifying your decision on January 29th and we look forward to others including Friends of the Lake District,  taking Millom Town Council’s lead and pulling out of the Geological Disposal Facility  “Community Partnerships”. of South and Mid Copeland. 

Yours sincerely

Marianne Birkby

Lakes Against Nuclear Dump – a Radiation Free Lakeland campaign

Risks of geologic disposal of weapons plutonium

By Cameron Tracy | January 13, 2025https://thebulletin.org/premium/2025-01/risks-of-geologic-disposal-of-weapons-plutonium/

https://www.lakesagainstnucleardump.com/

January 28, 2025 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | UK, wastes