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The News That Matters about the Nuclear Industry Fukushima Chernobyl Mayak Three Mile Island Atomic Testing Radiation Isotope

Inside the radioactive island with mutant sharks that was used to test nuclear bombs

The water….remains undrinkable and sealife and plants cannot be eaten due to the radioactive water and soil.

The Defence Department concluded in the ’70s that the soil was so contained with cesium-137 and strontium-90 – both taking about three decades to decay, called a half-life – that the best course of action was to just let it rot.

Plutonium-239, however, takes a little longer; 24,000 years..…………………

Josh Milton,  Oct 26, 2024, 
https://metro.co.uk/2024/10/26/inside-radioactive-island-mutant-sharks-caused-nuclear-bombs-21376332/

Mutant sharks. White sand laced with plutonium. Water tainted with strontium. Hub cap-sized hermit crabs eating coconuts containing caesium. A dome ‘coffin’ crammed with radioactive material in plastic bags.

The Marshall Islands, a ring of coral reefs in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, looks like the perfect place to throw on a floppy sun hat and read a book below swaying palm trees.

But in the 1940s and ’50s, the US used two of the far-flung atolls, Bikini and Enewetak, to test out 67 nuclear bombs.

One was 1,000 times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb, according to Hibakusha Worldwide, which tracks nuclear incidents.

This was part of Operation Crossroad, an atomic testing programme that came out of the anxiety of the Cold War.

With 52,000 Marshallese people calling the islands home at the time, the 20 islands are the remnants of ancient volcanoes halfway between Hawaii and Australia.

Yet entire islands were vaporized and craters gouged into its shallow lagoons, forcing hundreds of people out of their homes, never to return.

Bikini Atoll now has such a reputation for groovy wildlife it inspired the setting of Spongebob Squarepants.

While the islands are unlikely home to talking sponges, the radiation that lingers in its waters is impacting the wildlife.

Nurse sharks with just one dorsal fin swim around the Bikini Atoll and car-sized coral grows along the seafloor.

‘Popular belief is that radiation causes mutations, and you know what, it’s true,’ Steve Palumbi, a professor of marine sciences also at Stanford, told The Sun.

Even low levels of radiation can cause genetic mutations. Caesium, strontium and other radioactive isotopes break apart DNA, compressing thousands of years of evolution into a few decades in what one paper once described as ‘unnatural selection‘.

Marine life is on the rebound in Bikini. ‘The fact there is life there and the life there is trying to come back from the most violent thing we’ve ever done to it is pretty hopeful,’ said Steve Palumbi, a professor in marine sciences at Stanford University.

The water, though, remains undrinkable and sealife and plants cannot be eaten due to the radioactive water and soil.

People living on nearby islands, now part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, during and after the testing show a higher risk of developing cancer – not one of the top two causes of death – and birth defects.

The list of woes for the Marshallese does not end there, with rising sea levels fuelled by climate change slowly swallowing up the habitable atolls.

The largest nuclear detonation was the hydrogen bomb Castle Bravo, fired on March 1, 1954, in Bikini. As the mushroom-shaped clast cast a shadow over the island, the radioactive fallout and debris spewed well beyond the shorelines.

‘Traces of radioactive material were later found in parts of Japan, India, Australia, Europe, and the US,’ says the Atomic Heritage Foundation.

‘This was the worst radiological disaster in US history and caused worldwide backlash against atmospheric nuclear testing.’

Bikini, the colonial spelling of Pikinni, became so radioactive there’s little hope it’ll ever be habitable.

After the Limited Test Ban Treaty of 1963 put an end to atmospheric nuclear testing, this left American officials – and the islands’ displaced citizens – with one option: wait.

The Defence Department concluded in the ’70s that the soil was so contained with cesium-137 and strontium-90 – both taking about three decades to decay, called a half-life – that the best course of action was to just let it rot.

Plutonium-239, however, takes a little longer; 24,000 years. The US dumped 437 plastic bags filled with lumps of plutonium that had spewed after a bomb misfired into a 33-foot crater left behind in 1958 by a nuke on Runit Island.

That, and about 35 Olympic-sized swimming pools’ worth of radioactive soil and nuclear waste.

The crater was plugged up by a 350-foot-wide slab of concrete called the Runit Dome, which locals call ‘The Tomb’, in the ’70s. The dome almost looks like something from a science fiction movie, surrounded by a tropical paradise.

And the dome is leaking. ‘The dome is a significant visible scar on the landscape,’ Ken Buesseler, a marine radioactivity expert at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), told Oceans magazine in 2020.

But it’s a relatively small source of radioactivity.’

Overall, more than half of the 167 original inhabitants of Bikini Atoll have died. Some started showing cancers related to radiation exposure in the 1960s, while people living downwind of the explosions suffered burns and low blood counts.

Several generations later, about 5,400 Bikinians are still living in exile. Some live on a lone Pacific island called Kili, roughly 400 miles from Bikini, and others from Honolulu to the ‘Wheat Capital’ of Oklahoma, Enid.

Bikini Atoll largely remains uninhabited, with a tiny caretaker team taking care of the island infrastructure and divers pop in from time to time.

Bikinians continue to fight, however. Lobbying the US Congress for money to redevelop and clean up the place they once called home.

Scientists are hopeful. Remediation efforts include sprinkling affected areas with potassium fertilizer which reduces how much cesium-137 seeps into locally grown crops. How radioactive the soil is has also been decreasing.

The Marshall Islands Program advises that, once resettlement finally begins, a radiation monitoring programme be set up.

‘In this way, the Kili-Bikini-Ejit Local Government and the people of Bikini can be assured that radiological conditions on the islands remain at or below applicable safety standards, and the United States Government can avoid mistakes of the past,’ the programme says.

October 28, 2024 Posted by | environment, OCEANIA | Leave a comment

Wildlife Refuge’s Toxic Past Still A Colorado Concern

A national wildlife refuge that was contaminated by plutonium from the 1950s through the early 1990s is still a health concern for nearby Colorado communities.

Gary Stoller, Forbes, Oct 25, 2024

For many decades, Rocky Flats has been a controversial contaminated site south of Boulder, Colorado, about 20 miles north of Denver. The controversy continues, as nearby communities refuse to further develop the 6,200-acre site that’s now a wildlife refuge with trails for walkers and cyclists.

Rocky Flats, which housed facilities to produce nuclear weapons components from 1952 through the early 1990s, was contaminated by plutonium and other nuclear materials. Cleanup ended in 2006, and, a year later, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated the site as the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge. Federal government officials say the area used for the refuge is safe for human visitors, but neighboring cities Westminster and Broomfield and the town of Superior apparently remain unconvinced.

For many decades, Rocky Flats has been a controversial contaminated site south of Boulder, Colorado, about 20 miles north of Denver. The controversy continues, as nearby communities refuse to further develop the 6,200-acre site that’s now a wildlife refuge with trails for walkers and cyclists.

Rocky Flats, which housed facilities to produce nuclear weapons components from 1952 through the early 1990s, was contaminated by plutonium and other nuclear materials. Cleanup ended in 2006, and, a year later, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated the site as the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge. Federal government officials say the area used for the refuge is safe for human visitors, but neighboring cities Westminster and Broomfield and the town of Superior apparently remain unconvinced.

Last month, Westminster withdrew from an intergovernmental agreement to fund the building of a tunnel and a bridge into the refuge. Such construction would improve access to the refuge — home to more than 200 wildlife species— for hikers, walkers, cyclists and outdoor enthusiasts. Broomfield and Superior had previously withdrawn their support.

The refuge is part of the Rocky Mountain Greenway, a 25-mile trail that reaches from Commerce City, a Denver suburb, into Boulder and Jefferson counties. The trail links Rocky Flats with the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, land outside of downtown Denver that also was cleaned up after contamination from the manufacture of chemical warfare agents, including mustard gas, for World War II.

In a 2006 report, the U.S. Government Accountability Office said $10 billion had been spent since 1995 to clean up Rocky Flats. The amount of cleanup waste that had to be removed “was equivalent to a 65-story building the length and width of a football field,” the GAO said…………….

The majority of Westminster city councilors said last month they feared foot traffic could stir up plutonium, according to a story published by Colorado Community Media, which has publications in eight Colorado counties. Critics said measurable radioactive materials remain in and around the Rocky Flats site and will remain for thousands of years, the media group reported.  https://www.forbes.com/sites/garystoller/2024/10/25/wildlife-refuges-toxic-past-still-a-colorado-concern/

October 26, 2024 Posted by | environment, USA | Leave a comment

Fears salt marsh plan could lead to ‘destruction’ of Severn Vale

Gazette, 21st October 24

THERE are fears plans for new salt marshes linked to the construction of nuclear power plant Hinkley C would lead to “wholesale destruction of the Severn Vale”.

EDF bosses have been severely criticised for their environmental improvement plans in Gloucestershire which are linked to the new Hinkley C site in Somerset.

Their original plan for Hinkley Point was to install an acoustic fish deterrent system to scare fish away from the site as the Bristol Channel is home to numerous species such as eels, herring, salmon and sprats.

However, the French government-owned energy firm feel this will no longer be viable and have instead drawn up alternative plans to create salt marshes along the River Severn.

In the area, they have identified sites in Arlingham and Littleton Upon Severn near Thornbury in South Gloucestershire.

Other proposed sites include Rodley near Westbury-on-Severn in Gloucestershire and Kingston Seymour in Somerset.

But the proposals, which were aired at a recent parish council meeting, have been met with strong opposition in the Severn Vale.

David Seal, a local resident, believes the plans would “likely bring an end to most ideas of future development of the village, farming, farmland, miles and miles of hedgerow, trees and just about everything we all love about the green serenity of the village”.

“All this to ‘offset’ Hinckley C destroying 182 million fish in the estuary per year over 60 years,” he said.

“EDF has all the technical know-how to dig two enormous cooling water tunnels 3.3km out under the Bristol Channel, yet they say it’s ‘too risky’ to fit an acoustic deterrent to mitigate the problem at source in the same estuary.

“What is too risky is messing about with the River Severn and destroying the land we and nature live off…………………………………………………….
https://www.gazetteseries.co.uk/news/24665869.fears-salt-marsh-plan-lead-destruction-severn-vale/

October 25, 2024 Posted by | environment, UK | Leave a comment

‘Millions of fish could die’ under current Hinkley Point C plan

Environmental advocates demand EDF takes action

By Lewis Clarke, Somerset Live , 22nd Oct 2024

A solutions-focussed, scientifically backed answer to the critical environmental situation at Hinkley Point C has been released by a coalition of scientists, engineers, and innovators, showing that the Acoustic Fish Deterrent (AFD) is both a necessary and feasible requirement for the builders of Hinkley Point C – EDF Energy – to apply.

An AFD Delivery Report, launched on October 16, gives evidence that the AFD can be installed safely and effectively in the Severn Estuary. It highlights the innovations in technical ability, technology, logistics, and science which will reduce maintenance times from 72 days per year down to just 19. The report debunks common misconceptions about noise levels, diving time, and more with scientifically backed evidence, and urges EDF to ensure the system is installed, tested, and operational before the station starts to abstract cooling water.

In light of the critical environmental situation at Hinkley Point C, a parliamentary debate led by Sir Ashley Fox MP was held last week on Wednesday 9th October 2024. During the debate, Sir Ashley Fox addressed that EDF Energy’s mosaic of mitigation measures, specifically the proposed saltmarsh plans, are a completely illogical choice.

The saltmarsh plans are a proposed alternative to the Acoustic Fish Deterrent (AFD), a system designed to protect aquatic life by deterring fish from entering the cooling systems of the power plant, and was included in the initial design plans of Hinkley Point C.

The AFD system remains mandated in the Development Consent Order (DCO). It is also considered best practice for screening estuarine intakes in the UK by the Environment Agency, and has been scrutinised by a Welsh Government Report (2021), a Public Inquiry (2022), and the ruling by Secretary of State Kwasi Kwarteng (2022) which all stated that the AFD must be installed. EDF Energy has been working to remove this vital environmental protection measure for nearly eight years, arguing on the grounds of health and safety concerns, noise pollution and effect on mammals, and further delay of the completion of Hinkley Point C.

The AFD Delivery Report provides a solution to the current impasse, but without the AFD, it has been warned by the Welsh Government Commission that approximately 182 million fish would be killed annually, including sensitive species like shad, sprat, Atlantic salmon, and herring.

In the AFD Delivery Report, Professor Mark Everard, University of West of England says “There can in my scientific view be no justification for removal of AFD. It makes absolutely no sense to permit very substantial damage to marine biodiversity and hope then that modest mitigation entailing a degree of recruitment only of species reliant on the saltmarsh can offset it.

“Cost reduction is cited by EDF as one element of its plan to remove the mandated AFD and would appear to be its principal consideration, but one that obviously overlooks the vital purpose of deflecting fish from the intake. Ideally, saltmarsh restoration should be implemented ADDITIONALLY to the AFD to mitigate the still substantial likely entrainment of multiple life stages of fish and invertebrates, even with deflection from the intake.”

South Gloucestershire Council understands that EDF will make another application to the Secretary of State to remove the requirement for an AFD in the new year, and so has written to the Secretary of State for Energy, Security & Net Zero, the Rt Hon Ed Milliband, requesting that he upholds the existing requirement to install an AFD.

Councillors Maggie Tyrrell and Ian Boulton, said in their letter to the Secretary of State: “We are writing to express our gravest concern regarding the scale of impact on the migratory fish populations of the Severn Estuary Special Area of Conservation (SAC) which will result from the massive water abstraction at Hinkley Point C of 120,000 litres of seawater a second for 60 years once the power station is operational.

“This impact would be made significantly worse by the proposed application for a change to the 2013 Development Consent Order to remove the required Acoustic Fish Deterrent (AFD).

“A Welsh Government report on the AFD cites evidence that removal of the AFD would capture at least 182 million fish per year, a significant proportion of which would be killed. Put simply, removing the AFD would cause critical levels of wildlife destruction.”

The council is also concerned that EDF are approaching local landowners about a plan to create new salt marshes, which they would propose as alternative compensation habitat for fish in place of the AFD. It is understood that local landowners are deeply concerned about the idea, which has been turned down in other areas when raised by EDF, and experts query EDFs claims that new saltmarshes would offer suitable habitat for fish killed by the water intake of the new power station.

The council’s letter also highlighted that even with the AFD, that compensation will still be needed as some fish will still be drawn into the intake and killed. Alongside the letter, the Secretary of State was also provided with information about priorities to deliver improvements for fish passage in the Bristol Avon river and Coastal Catchments……………………
https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/somerset-news/millions-fish-could-die-under-9641529

October 24, 2024 Posted by | oceans, UK | Leave a comment

Navy ‘Innovation’ Center  for “warfighting capabilities” will harm the Monterey Peninsula and ocean

Nina Beety
California Carmel Pine Cone, Monterey 23 Oct 24

The planned Navy Innovation Center for “warfighting capabilities” will
cause irreparable harm to the Monterey Peninsula and ocean. The Navy’s
track record of environmental damage is well-known – wanton disregard
for life, health, and safety, including its own personnel, maiming and
killing whales and dolphins, poisoning ocean, land, and drinking water –
while refusing accountability and transparency.

In its scant environmental assessment for the center, the Navy refused
to evaluate coastal zone management, hazardous materials and waste,
public health and safety, or recreation impacts, or existing local
impacts – [Navy] groundwater contamination from the airport flowing into
Laguna Grande, radioactive contamination under NPS, killing historic
trees along Del Monte Avenue, sonar, new 5G on the beach, and violating
federal laser limits. Its microwave emissions harm surrounding
residential areas and forests, and those emissions will increase with
the new center. The Navy’s nuclear waste dumps near the Farallons and
Half Moon Bay impact the bay.

This center is incompatible with the viability and health of this
community and the Earth. Please oppose it.

October 24, 2024 Posted by | environment, USA | Leave a comment

Humanity is on the verge of ‘shattering Earth’s natural limits’, say experts in biodiversity warning

Humanity is “on the precipice” of shattering Earth’s limits, and will
suffer huge costs if we fail to act on biodiversity loss, experts warn.
This week, world leaders meet in Cali, Colombia, for the Cop16 UN
biodiversity conference to discuss action on the global crisis. As they
prepare for negotiations, scientists and experts around the world have
warned that the stakes are high, and there is “no time to waste”. “We
are already locked in for significant damage, and we’re heading in a
direction that will see more,” says Tom Oliver, professor of applied
ecology at the University of Reading. “I really worry that negative
changes could be very rapid.”

Guardian 21st Oct 2024 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/oct/21/humanity-earth-natural-limits-biodiversity-warning-cop16-conference-scientists-academics

October 23, 2024 Posted by | environment | Leave a comment

Somerset village would be devastated by salt marsh plans. 

 One young farmer warned her home and all of her land was in the area that could become a
salt marsh. A North Somerset village is urging bosses at the Hinkley Point
C nuclear power station to drop plans to turn huge swathes of local
farmland into a salt marsh.

EDF, who are building Somerset’s new nuclear
power station, are proposing creating new salt marsh habitats along the
Severn to compensate for the number of fish that will die by being sucked
into the power station’s cooling systems. But the sudden announcement of
plans has shocked communities where the salt marshes are planned — such
as Kingston Seymour in North Somerset.

Somerset Live 21st Oct 2024,
https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/somerset-news/somerset-village-would-devastated-salt-9645474

October 23, 2024 Posted by | environment | Leave a comment

Nuclear Missile Submarines Collided (Armed with Hundreds of Nuclear Weapons)

The two submarines were nuclear-powered. Thus, these boats could have become like Chernobyl under the waves. 

the need for stealth is naval engagements should be well understood but it must also be stressed that, in the nuclear age, such secrecy could lead to truly devastating consequences unless some form of modus vivendi is crafted between Washington and Beijing to deescalate certain crises. 

In February 2009, the British HMS Vanguard and French Le Triomphant, both nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, collided in the Atlantic Ocean during routine patrols. The incident raised serious concerns about naval safety protocols and the lack of communication between allied nations operating stealth vessels in close proximity.

The National Interest, by Brandon J. Weichert, October 20, 2024 

What You Need to Know: In February 2009, the British HMS Vanguard and French Le Triomphant, both nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, collided in the Atlantic Ocean during routine patrols. The incident raised serious concerns about naval safety protocols and the lack of communication between allied nations operating stealth vessels in close proximity.

-Whistleblower William McNeilly later alleged that equipment failures and crew errors aboard the Vanguard contributed to the collision and that a cover-up ensued. This event underscored the potential catastrophic consequences of submarine collisions, especially between nuclear-armed vessels.

-The article also draws parallels to recent incidents involving U.S. and Chinese submarines, emphasizing the need for improved communication to prevent escalations that could lead to environmental disasters or even war.

The Collision

The collision happened in the early hours of 3 February 2009. The two subs were conducting routine patrols. At some point, in the mid-Atlantic, the two nuclear-powered submarines crossed paths and crashed into each other. 

This catastrophe was the result of a combination of factors, but the most damning one of all comes from a Royal Navy submariner, William McNeilly, who decided to become a whistleblower. According to this whistleblower, the accident was likely the result of the British submarine which had been subject to “massive equipment failures, crew errors, and lax standards” onboard the HMS Vanguard.

Indeed, the official account provided to the public by the British government (and backed up by the French government), according to McNeilly, was far less caustic than the event actually had been. In fact, according to the whistleblower testimony, the British nuclear submarine was mere moments away from exploding (which would have ignited the ship’s nuclear reactor, causing all kinds of problems for the world).

The whistleblower account details how the FNS Le Triomphant had bashed out a “massive chunk” from the HMS Vanguard after which the French sub “grazed down the side of” the Vanguard. From there, “compressed air bottle groups had been dislodged by the collision and ‘were hanging off and banging against the pressure hull.’ The submarine had to return to base slowly because ‘if one of the [High Pressure Air] bottle groups exploded it would’ve created a chain reaction and sent the submarine plummeting to the bottom.’”

A “massive cover-up of the incident” soon followed. 

According to McNeilly the Vanguard had become the poster child in the failing British Royal Navy (an issue about which this author has documented repeatedly in these pages) of mismanagement, lax discipline, and poor seamanship. 

Before its collision with the Le Triomphant, there was another cover-up involving the Vanguard pertaining to a “deep depth incident” in which the HMS Vanguard “dived far beyond a normal safe depth. A combination of high-water pressure and the submarine’s low speed made it difficult for the submarine’s hydroplanes [to] generate enough lift to raise the submarine, and ballast water could not be pumped out fast enough to allow the submarine to rise.” 


In essence, well before the 2009 collision, the Vanguard was almost lost due to poor seamanship. Yet, the Royal Navy, rather than address the problems, chose to cover it up and continue operating as though everything were normal.

Thankfully, the incident led to a review of submarine operations and safety protocols by both the British and French navies. It further highlighted the need for improved communication and coordination between allied nations operating in the same waters. 

Although, the presence of a “massive cover-up” being enacted immediately upon the Vanguard’s return to port is unacceptable and begs the question as to whether the Royal Navy and French Navy really learned the right lessons or if they just figured out how to downplay things better.

The Subs Involved

Britain’s HMS Vanguard was the lead boat in the Vanguard-class ballistic missile submarine. ………………………………………………………………………….

On the other end of the collision was France’s Le Triomphant, the lead boat of the French navy’s Triomphant-class ballistic missile submarine. ………………………………………

The Triomphant carried 15 M45 ballistic missiles and had four torpedo tubes for F17 torpedoes.

This incident on the High Seas between two allied nations that simply were not aware that each other had submarines operating in the same Area of Responsibility (AOR) could have been far worse than it was. The two submarines, as you have read, were nuclear-powered. Thus, these boats could have become like Chernobyl under the waves. 

Thankfully, that fate was avoided. But this incident was a clear wake-up call………………………

Implications for Sino-American Interactions Beneath the Sea

Just recently, in fact, the USS Connecticut is believed to have crashed into an undersea mountain (seamount) in the crowded South China Sea while it was possibly conducting a covert surveillance mission of China’s secretive naval base at Hainan Island. 

It was a major source of embarrassment for the US Navy because, the incident not only revealed what the Connecticut was up to but it also put a dent in the Navy’s limited Seawolf-class fleet. 

the need for stealth is naval engagements should be well understood but it must also be stressed that, in the nuclear age, such secrecy could lead to truly devastating consequences unless some form of modus vivendi is crafted between Washington and Beijing to deescalate certain crises. 

This was done throughout the Cold War……………………………..

A Sino-American collision, which is likely to occur given the tension and interactions thus far between the two powers, could either lead to an environmental catastrophe. Or worse, it could lead to a world war.  https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/2-nuclear-missile-submarines-collided-armed-hundreds-nuclear-weapons-211587

October 22, 2024 Posted by | incidents, oceans | Leave a comment

Councillors raise concerns over fish populations at Hinkley C

Forty-four tonnes of fish could die every year once the site is running

 South Gloucestershire Council have raised concerns over the potential loss
of wildlife at Hinkley Point C as bosses propose installing saltmarsh land
in parts of North Somerset and Gloucestershire. EDF energy, who run the
nuclear power station at Hinkley C, are planning to build the habitat to
compensate for the 44 tonnes of fish that could die every year once the
site is running. But land owners and councillors in South Gloucestershire
have raised concern about the loss of wildlife and the health of the
region’s rivers.

 Rayo 18th Oct 2024,
https://hellorayo.co.uk/greatest-hits/bristol/news/hinkley-south-gloucestershire-letter/

October 21, 2024 Posted by | environment, UK | Leave a comment

Some Types of Pollution Are More Equal than Others

There is a BIG taboo around Radioactive Pollution. We published a report last June into acid mine pollution alongside radioactive pollution in Whitehaven Harbour – so far ignored by mainstream media.

Marianne Birkby, Oct 20, 2024  https://radiationfreelakeland.substack.com/p/some-types-of-pollution-are-more?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=2706406&post_id=150473856&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=ln98x&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

Whitehaven Mine Pollution- Report by Radiation Free Lakeland – evidence to inform Authorities in future mitigation/prevention regarding mine pollution

The Westmorland Gazette and other local press have today published a feel good article about beach cleans in Cumbria. So far so good but the beaches contain far more insidious and long lived pollution than plastic, in the form of radioactive wastes from decades of Sellafield’s operations. In Whitehaven Harbour these radioactive wastes are literally magnified by the presence of the ongoing acid mine pollution pouring into the harbour. Instead of addressing this ongoing pollution event the local MP Josh MacAlister is greenwashing the ongoing devastation by bigging up Whitehaven as the West Coast Riviera and fizzingly pushing for a ferry service while boats are understandably leaving because of the visible acid mine pollution.

Less visible is the “historic” radioactive pollution still pouring out of Sellafield with more radioactive waste arriving almost daily.

October 21, 2024 Posted by | environment, UK | Leave a comment

The Atlantic Ocean’s currents are on the verge of collapse. This is what it means for the planet

 The Atlantic Ocean’s currents are on the verge of collapse. This is what
it means for the planet. Scientists are concerned that the Atlantic
Ocean’s system of currents may be about to reach a tipping point. If it
does, it’ll have severe consequences for all of us.

 BBC Science Focus 13th Oct 2024
https://www.sciencefocus.com/comment/atlantic-current-collapse

October 20, 2024 Posted by | climate change, oceans | Leave a comment

A nuclear kettle of fish at Hinkley Point C

Is a trawler’s worth of fish getting in the way of our nuclear
ambitions? Tali Fraser investigates something fishy going on around Hinkley
Point C. Among ministers of the last government, it is known as “the fish
disco”, and it is, they say, a cautionary tale that illustrates the
nation’s inability to build critical infrastructure.

The story centres on
the massive construction site on the Bristol Channel where EDF is building
the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station that is essential to meet the
nation’s future energy needs. Nuclear reactors need to be cooled – one
reason they are often based on the coast – but the intake of the water
poses a risk to fish. EDF’s initial solution included what they called an
“acoustic fish deterrent”, essentially a series of 280 underwater
speakers blasting a series of high-pitched sound pulses louder than a jumbo
jet. The company, however, has begun to argue that the deterrent, mockingly
dubbed “the fish disco” by former environment secretary Michael Gove,
is unnecessary and wants instead to mitigate the risk by other means.

Critics, however, say the company is reneging on a promise it made to win
planning consent because it wants to save cash (the cost of the deterrent
is estimated to run to the tens of millions of pounds).

 Politics Home, 15th Oct 2024
https://www.politicshome.com/thehouse/article/fish-disco-hinkley-point-c-nuclear-energy

October 18, 2024 Posted by | oceans, UK | Leave a comment

Farmers warn over Hinkley Point C’s saltmarsh plan

Burnham & Highbridge Weekly News 12th October, By John Wimperis,

PLANS to turn a huge swathe of land in North Somerset into a marsh to make up for the environmental impact of Hinkley Point C would “destroy” homes and livelihoods, farmers have warned.

Bosses at Somerset’s new nuclear power station are proposing creating new saltmarsh habitats along the Severn to compensate for the number of fish that will die by being sucked into the power station’s cooling systems. But this means communities along the river and estuary face losing hundreds of acres of farmland.

In Kingston Seymour in North Somerset, the plans to turn 1,500 acres of prime agricultural land between Weston-super-Mare and Clevedon into salt marshes have caused outcry. Farmers, who were left in “extreme distress,” after finding out their land was under threat blocked access to wildlife surveys for the plans in protest on Tuesday (October 8).

A public meeting with EDF — the energy company building Hinkley Point C — is set to be held in Kingston Seymour Village Hall on October 14 at 7.45pm.

Farmers across the affected area have urged EDF to drop the plan.

Young farmer Sophie Cole of the farm at Wharf House said: “I am a third-generation young farmer in Kingston Seymour and all my land and property is directly impacted by this proposal.

“No amount of money can compensate me for the loss of my livelihood and exciting plans for the future.”

Peter and Karen Stuckey of Channel View Farm said: “We have a thriving commercial business which provides employment and services to local people. 

“We also have agricultural land and several dwellings which provides much needed local housing. 

“This proposal will destroy our home and livelihood and is causing us a great deal of worry and anxiety.”

They added: “This will destroy everything we have built up over the last 50 years.”

Meanwhile, at Dowlais Farm, Kathrin and David Kirk said: “We have rebuilt Dowlais Farm from near derelict to a great family home (grade II listed) as well as a thriving campsite and two holiday cottages.

“We purchased the farm seven years ago from North Somerset Council and have invested everything we have both financially and physically into this business and built it up from scratch.

“This proposal would destroy our livelihood and our home. It would also destroy wildlife habitats for otters, bats, badgers, foxes, deer as well as birds such as owls, kestrels and buzzards who all nest in the trees on our land.”

Dan Kostyla of Sea Wall Farm, another young farmer, said: “My family have been farming here for generations — I am fourth generation — and have invested heavily in the farm business.  We have a large dairy and beef farm business.

“All of this will be lost from the food chain and our business will be unviable/destroyed.” 

Another young farmer, Dan Kostyla of Sea Wall Farm said: “My family have been farming here for generations — I am fourth generation — and have invested heavily in the farm business.  We have a large dairy and beef farm business.

“All of this will be lost from the food chain and our business will be unviable/destroyed.” 

EDF said it is obligated to make environmental improvements such as salt marshes to compensate for the power station’s impact on fish populations, which the energy company said would be limited………….

A public consultation will be held on any plans before they go ahead……………………………………………………………… https://www.burnhamandhighbridgeweeklynews.co.uk/news/24646958.farmers-warn-hinkley-point-cs-saltmarsh-plan/

October 13, 2024 Posted by | environment, UK | Leave a comment

Hinkley Point C saltmarsh plans ‘a disaster’, say MPs

A debate was held in Westminster Hall on October 10

Somerset Live By Daniel Mumby, Local Democracy Reporter, 11 Oct 24

Creating saltmarshes to offset the impact of Somerset’s new nuclear power station would be “a disaster”, according to local MPs. EDF Energy held a public consultation in January and February over its proposals for new saltmarshes on the Pawlett Hams, which lie on the right bank of the River Parrett near the villages of Combwich and Pawlett.

The company U-turned in early-September following a successful campaign by local residents, and is currently exploring four additional sites in Somerset and Gloucestershire which could offset the construction of Hinkley Point C. But local MPs have warned that saltmarshes will not address the underlying environmental issues and could harm existing flood defences

Sir Ashley Fox, the Conservative MP for Bridgwater, secured a parliamentary debate on this issue, which took place in Westminster Hall on Wednesday morning (October 9). He said: “The Pawlett Hams proposal was highly unpopular with the local community.

“In fact, it was difficult to find anyone who thought it was a good idea, and when I met representatives from EDF, even they seemed a little half-hearted about it.” When EDF Energy secured planning permission to build Hinkley Point C, it set out three separate proposals to prevent the loss of fish stocks in the Bristol Channel, from which water will be sourced to cool the power station’s reactor:……………………………………………………………………………………………….. https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/somerset-news/hinkley-point-c-saltmarsh-plans-9620846

 

October 13, 2024 Posted by | environment | Leave a comment

WWF: Average wildlife populations have fallen 73 per cent in 50 years

Global wildlife populations suffered a catastrophic average decline of 73
per cent between 1970 and 2020, according to the latest edition of the
Living Planet Index published today as part of WWF’s biennial Living Planet
Report. Bleakly subtitled A System in Peril, the landmark study of global
progress towards the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals attributed the
rapid wildlife losses to human activities, such as habitat destruction and
overfishing, which have then compounded by escalating climate impacts.

Business Green 10th Oct 2024

https://www.businessgreen.com/news/4368251/wwf-average-wildlife-populations-fallen-cent

October 12, 2024 Posted by | environment | Leave a comment

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