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“The Worst Trick or Treat Ever” Say Workington People About the Plan to Import Japan’s Sodium Coolant Nuclear Waste.

By mariannewildart on October 31, 2026, https://mariannewildart.wordpress.com/2026/10/31/the-worst-trick-or-treat-ever-say-workington-people-about-the-plan-to-import-japans-sodium-coolant-nuclear-waste/

Yesterday in Workington town centre the petition to Stop Japan’s Nuclear Plant Wastes was launched.

Dozens of Workington residents signed the paper petition in just one and a half hours which will be added to the online petition making almost 1000 signatures in the first week.

One of the signatories was former Mayor of Allerdale, Derek Thompson, who wholeheartedly agreed with the petition text that Cumberland Council should “put their constituents and neighbouring areas before the interests of the nuclear industry and halt the plan to bring volatile liquid sodium coolant to the Port of Workington from the failed Japanese Monju reactor.”

Many people signing the petition yesterday in Workington in the shadow of the famous Lookout Clock said that the plan to bring Japanese nuclear waste to Workington was the “worst ever Halloween trick or treat!” The “treat” would be 20 short term jobs over just 7 years while the “trick” would be the very high risk of sodium coolant being exposed to water or air resulting in explosion along with vapour clouds of caustic soda.

Even the Gulls in Workington town centre came to support the push back against the plan to transport the Japanese Monju nuclear plant’s sodium coolant 15,000 km to Workington. The sodium coolant plant is being aggressively promoted by Cumberland Council who have already sunk £1.4M of Workington’s Town Deal into preparing the ground for the Japanese nuclear waste. The Town Deal money was meant for the benefit of the public not for the benefit of nuclear companies intent on bringing Japanese nuclear waste to Workington. Alarmingly Cumberland Council who are promoting the plan as “partners” with the developers are also the planning authority who will be “scrutinising” the plan. This conflict of interest is blatant and flies in the face of local democratic accountability.

November 3, 2026 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | opposition to nuclear, UK