With coronavirus problem, Hinkley Point C nuclear project should be paused
until the Covid-19 public health emergency is under full control. This repeated call comes from the NGOs and NFLA following intensive lobbying of the UK Government, the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) and the Somerset local authorities responsible for the Hinkley Point C site by many of these groups, including the local Stop Hinkley group.
There have been improved efforts as well to enforce social distancing, though it remains to be seen if earlier poor practice in this area on and around the site could lead to increased infection rates in North Somerset and areas where the workforce originate from, such as South Wales and the Bristol area.https://www.nuclearpolicy.info/news/joint-statement-concerned-anti-nuclear-ngos-uk-ireland-nuclear-free-local-authorities-ongoing-construction-work-hinkley-point/
Sellafield nuclear construction stalled – paus in construction extended to April 27
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I
  n Cumbria 9th April 2020, Sellafield has announced it is extending the pause of construction workacross its nuclear site. Initially the firm has announced it would halt construction work until April 8. But now it has been extended to April 27.
A company spokesman said: “Our pause on construction work has been extended
while we continue to identify the key work that needs to continue and which of our key workers and supply chain are needed on site. “The pause includes all construction work currently being undertaken by the Projects Delivery Directorate and most other project work on-site, with some key exceptions where stopping work could impact on nuclear safety. https://www.in-cumbria.com/news/18369742.sellafield-extends-pause-work/ |
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Microbes in nuclear fuel ponds slow down the decommissioning process
 Manchester University 8th April 2020,Two new research papers from The University of Manchester, working with colleagues at Sellafield Limited and the National Nuclear Laboratory show that microbes can actively colonise some of the most intensively radioactive waste storage sites in Europe. When nuclear facilities such as
Sellafield were designed and built more than 50 years ago, it was sensible to assume that the conditions in the pond would prevent microbial life from taking hold, but now new research shows that this is not the case. The growth of microbial life in nuclear facilities can cause uncertainty or problems. Understanding how microbial life can inhabit environments such as
fuel storage ponds is vital to progress nuclear decommissioning work such as at Sellafield. Microbes are a group of organisms that, including bacteria and algae, are known to inhabit a wide range of habitats on Earth. Improvements in detection technology in recent years has allowed microorganisms to be detected in environments previously thought to be inhospitable to life. It is now becoming clear that some microorganisms are capable of withstanding surprisingly high doses of radiation, at levels significantly greater than seen in natural environments. Power Technology 8th April 2020, University of Manchester researchers have discovered microbial life can
Geomicromicrobiologists studied microbes that can cause summer blooms in
nuclear fuel storage ponds, slowing down the decommissioning process of retired nuclear plants. Summer blooms reduce visibility and disrupt fuel retrieval. University of Manchester microbiology professor Jonathan Lloyd
said: “Our research focused on Sellafield’s First Generation Magnox Storage Pond (FGMSP), which is a legacy pond that has both significant levels of radioactivity in conjunction with a highly alkaline pH (11.4), equivalent to domestic bleach. “The ultimate aim of this work was to identify the microbes that can tolerate such an inhospitable environment, understand how they tolerate high radiation levels, and help site operators control their growth. “The growth of the microorganisms in the FGMSP inhibits the operations in the pond, which is currently a priority for decommissioning. “ |
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Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA) call for more stringent safety measures, and the closure of EDF’s old nuclear reactors
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Ardrossan Herald 8th April 2020, Six safety incidents have been reported at Hunterston including concerns about the nuclear plant’s cooling systems, fuelling machine and cracks in the reactors’ graphite core. The UK government’s safety watchdog, the Office for Nuclear Regulation, said that Hunterston had “failed to adequately account for” radioactive materials last October. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) also disclosed that unauthorised radioactive “debris” was found in a supposedly empty fuel flask that had been returned to Hunterston from the Sellafield site. The Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA) are calling for North Ayrshire Council to take more stringent measures regarding the plant and for EDF to close down old reactors. NFLA Scotland Convenor, Councillor Feargal Dalton said: “These
incidents confirm in our view that these aging reactors would be better being closed and the workers transferred into the long-term process of decommissioning Hunterston B.” |
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Call to stop construction at Hinkley C nuclear project, due to coronavirus risk
Allan Jeffrey of Stop Hinkley talks to the Extinction Rebellion Radio Show. Rebel Radio 7th April 2020
https://www.mixcloud.com/XR_RebelRadio/rebel-despatches-hinkley-point-07042020/
BBC Points West 8th April 2020, Bus drivers carrying workers to Hinkley Point C construction site are
worried their lives are being put at risk. Every day a fleet of vehicles drops of and picks up hundreds of staff. The bus company says its putting in screens to protect the drivers, but work hasn’t been complete yet.
Bus drivers are calling for construction to stop. For the safety of everybody it makes more sense to close the site down. They are showing no regard for human life and potentially putting everyone in a situation where people
could die. Drivers are expressing their concern on social media and sending pictures which seems to show lack of social distancing. There are concerns too about the movement of workers who come from outside the area.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000h59p/points-west-late-news-08042020
More delay in planning application for UK’s Wylfa Newydd nuclear project
Wylfa Newydd planning decision delayed again, NEI, 6 April 2020 A planning decision over the Wylfa Newydd nuclear power plant in Anglesey has been deferred, the UK Government has confirmed.
The Wylfa Newydd project, which envisaged the construction of two UK advanced boiling water reactors (ABWRs), was suspended in January 2019 after Hitachi, failed to reach a funding deal with the UK government. However, the government had been expected to grant a Development Consent Order to construct the £12 billion power station on 31 March…… The Secretary of State (Alok Sharma) has decided to re-set the statutory deadline for this application to 30 September 2020….'”
…..EDF Energy announced last month that it was delaying submission of its planning application for Sizewell C by a “few weeks” due to the coronavirus crisis. Construction work at Hinkley Point C has also been scaled back. https://www.neimagazine.com/news/newswylfa-newydd-planning-decision-delayed-again-7859280
EDF’s hypocrisy -Hinkley C nuclear construction continued, despite pandemic, as “essential” work
Bridgwater Mercury 4th April 2020 Roy Pumfrey: WHILE EDF has gone halfway by reducing the number of workers on the Hinkley C (HPC) site, the company seems reluctant to shut HPC down completely (‘HPC construction continues’, Mercury, March 24) due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
An EDF statement talked about reducing worker numbers ‘further as work already in progress is completed’, but was not specific about which work was so critical that it couldn’t be terminated now and how much longer it would carry on.
This is in stark contrast to the situation at Flamanville in France (HPC’s sister station) where EDF has stopped all but essential tasks. EDF hides behind the fig leaf of HPC being ‘a project of critical national importance’.
This is simply no longer justified. If it was okay to stop work for three weeks
over Christmas and the New Year, it must be done now when the stakes are
much higher than a holiday. At the same time, EDF promised to take more
effective measures on social distancing. Photographs of workers grouped in
bus queues and using the canteen but clearly less than 2m apart show that
this is all but impossible.
https://www.bridgwatermercury.co.uk/news/18351121.letter-shut-hinkley-c-now/
Sizewell C nuclear project: community has lost faith in the integrity of EDF
 East Anglian Daily Times (not on web) 3rd April 2020, John Rea Price: Community has lost faith in the integrity of EDF.So EDF has generously agreed to defer their application for planning consent “by a few weeks”, actually for just a month the website of the Planning Inspectorate suggests.
Mr Cadoux Hudson of EDF goes on to promise that more
time would be given for people to register as participants in the public examination. What he didn’t say is that this will be an extremely formal and legalistic process with very little opportunity for genuine engagement by members of the community and is thus a meaningless concession. He goes on to say that over eight years of public consultation EDF has tried hard to be transparent. He doesn’t seem to appreciate that the community has experienced its efforts as truculent and dismissive.
Despite repeated demands at each of the four stage of public consultation it has, in particular, failed to provide any evidence of substance and quality on the probable cumulative environmental impact of its development on this
uniquely sensitive landscape and coastline. The consequence has been that communities that were not in principle opposed to Sizewell C have become its bitterest opponents. Such is the loss of any faith in the integrity of EDF that many now believe that it will exploit the opportunity of this grave national crisis to drive its application forward as aggressively as possible.
It will thus seek to minimise the depth of scrutiny that its very
complex proposals demand at a time when statutory agencies, county, district and parish councils, conservation bodies and community groups have the least capacity to undertake this. https://www.eadt.co.uk/news |
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Sam and the Plant Next Door – growing up by the nuclear power plant
Sam, 11, is always being told not to worry about the nuclear power plant rising next door, but for him there is lots to think about. Hinkley Point C will be Britain’s largest nuclear plant, and it’s only two miles away. Most of his classmates expect to work at the plant but Sam is determined to escape that fate.
His dream is to protect the surrounding marine life he identifies with. Like the fish, he feels unappreciated by the adults. Sam thinks the only way to reach his dream is to leave his friends behind and to go to a private school. But when he’s offered a place, his parents can’t afford the fees. As a last resort, they turn to the power company for funding, which forces Sam to decide what kind of person he wants to be. Drifting between Sam’s daily life and his dreams, a film about holding on and letting go, along the tricky passage from childhood innocence to grown-up life https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMhYngrEgZU&feature=youtu.be
Expert opinion recommends furloughing Britain’s Trident nuclear weapons
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Nuclear weapons law expert suggests furloughing Trident https://www.irishlegal.com/article/nuclear-weapons-law-expert-suggests-furloughing-trident 3 April 2020 A legal expert on nuclear weapons has joined calls for the UK government to rethink keeping Trident submarines at sea during the coronavirus pandemic.Professor Nick Grief of Kent Law School is among a group of signatories to a letter questioning whether the cost of keeping the nuclear weapons system on “continuous at sea deterrent patrol” is justifiable during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Other signatories to the letter, circulated to parliamentarians across the UK, include three former Royal Navy commanders, SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford, academics and peace campaigners. The signatories have said they hope the letter will encourage politicians and the wider public to begin to question the morality and the feasibility of nuclear weaponry. It states: “The increasing cost of coronavirus will require decades to recover. Meanwhile, the UK’s Trident nuclear weapon system remains on continuous at sea deterrent patrol costing some £2 billion a year and using scarce military assets to protect the on-patrol submarine.” The letter also raises concerns about “the morale of the submarine crew on patrol” during the pandemic, as well as “their own state of health and exposure to the virus”. It concludes: “In these circumstances, and lacking any foreseeable threat of a ‘bolt from the blue’ nuclear weapon attack on the UK, is it appropriate for the government to continue spending billions of pounds on continuous at sea deterrent, as well as building new nuclear warheads and the submarines to carry them?” |
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UK ‘s new nuclear projects further delayed
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Nuclear project planning hit by delays, Construction News, 02 APR 2020 BY MILES ROWLAND DECISIONS ON FUTURE NUCLEAR BUILDS HAVE BEEN PUSHED BACK AT THREE POTENTIAL NEW SITES DUE TO THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS.The planning process for Wylfa Newydd, Sizewell C and Bradwell B have all been delayed by periods ranging from weeks to months.
A decision on Horizon Nuclear’s application for a development consent order (DCO) for Wylfa Newydd – the shelved nuclear project in Anglesey, North Wales – has been pushed back by six months by the government, from 31 March to 30 September. This is the second such delay for the decision, the original deadline for which was 23 October last year. While the project was put on hold over funding issues, Horizon, a subsidiary of Hitachi, had been hopeful the project could restart following the decision and the approval of a new funding model. A statement from the Planning Inspectorate said: “The secretary of state has concluded that an additional period of time is required in order to complete his consideration in respect of environmental effects and other issues which were outstanding following the examination.”…… Decisions on future nuclear builds have been pushed back at three potential new sites due to the coronavirus crisis. The planning process for Wylfa Newydd, Sizewell C and Bradwell B have all been delayed by periods ranging from weeks to months. A decision on Horizon Nuclear’s application for a development consent order (DCO) for Wylfa Newydd – the shelved nuclear project in Anglesey, North Wales – has been pushed back by six months by the government, from 31 March to 30 September. This is the second such delay for the decision, the original deadline for which was 23 October last year. While the project was put on hold over funding issues, Horizon, a subsidiary of Hitachi, had been hopeful the project could restart following the decision and the approval of a new funding model. A statement from the Planning Inspectorate said: “The secretary of state has concluded that an additional period of time is required in order to complete his consideration in respect of environmental effects and other issues which were outstanding following the examination.”……. EDF and Horizon Nuclear have also been awaiting a decision from the government on whether the regulated asset base model could be used to fund nuclear projects, following a consultation in October. The model requires developers to spend less upfront and instead raise cash through consumer bills. A spokesman for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said a decision would be made “in due course”. Meanwhile, the public consultation for Bradwell B in Essex, which began last month, is to be extended by five weeks. The project is introducing new ways for the community to participate in the consultation online and on the phone, as well as allowing people to book 20-minute discussions with nuclear experts to answer questions throughout April. Ground-surveying works are continuing on site at Bradwell B, and the project is awaiting a decision from the Office for Nuclear Regulation and the Environment Agency on its design for the UK HPR1000 – a third-generation pressurised water reactor.
Last week EDF announced it was cutting its workforce on Hinkley Point C by more than half, and implemented a range of measures to encourage social distancing after criticism that its actions there had been insufficient. A spokesman declined to state whether this could cause delays to the project. It is due to be completed in either 2025 or 2026. https://www.constructionnews.co.uk/civils/nuclear-project-planning-hit-by-delays-02-04-2020/ |
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Doctors warn on coronavirus danger for Julian Assange, imprisoned without conviction, in a coronavirus incubator
ASSANGE EXTRADITION: Doctors Warning on Assange in a Covid-19 Breeding Ground, Consortium News,April 1, 2020 • In a prison cited for failing to curb infections, Doctors4Assange warn that Julian Assange is at high risk of contracting the deadly coronavirus. According to a report Wednesday in The Daily Maverick, imprisoned WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange is one of only two prisoners of 797 inmates in Belmarsh Prison who are being held for skipping bail. The majority are violent criminals, including 20 percent for murder and 16 inmates on terrorism offenses. The facility was also repeatedly criticized by prison inspectors for a lapse in preventing infections to inmates. Following Judge Vanessa Baraitser’s decision to deny Assange bail last week, Doctors4 Assange released the following statement:
Doctors4Assange Statement on Assange
Bail Hearing over Coronavirus Risk, March 27, 2020 Doctors4Assange strongly condemns last Wednesday’s decision by UK District Judge Vanessa Baraitser to deny bail to Julian Assange. Despite our prior unequivocal statement[1] that Mr Assange is at increased risk of serious illness and death were he to contract coronavirus, and the evidence of medical experts, Baraitser dismissed the risk, citing UK guidelines for prisons in responding to the global pandemic: “I have no reason not to trust this advice as both evidence-based and reliable and appropriate.”[2]
Notably, however, Baraitser did not address the increased risk to Mr Assange relative to the general UK prison population, let alone prisoners at HMP Belmarsh where Assange is incarcerated. Nor did she address the rapidly emerging medical and legal consensus that vulnerable and low-risk prisoners should be released, immediately.
As the court heard, Mr Assange is at increased risk of contracting and dying from the novel disease coronavirus (COVID-19), a development which has led the World Health Organization to declare a public health emergency of international concern[3] and a global pandemic.[4] The reasons for Mr Assange’s increased risk include his ongoing psychological torture, his history of medical neglect and fragile health, and chronic lung disease.
Edward Fitzgerald, QC, representing Mr Assange, said, “These [medical] experts consider that he is particularly at risk of developing coronavirus and, if he does, that it develops into very severe complications for him… If he does develop critical symptoms it would be very doubtful that Belmarsh would be able to cope with his condition.”[5]
Baraitser’s casual dismissal of Mr Assange’s dire situation in the face of the COVID-19 emergency stood in stark contrast not only to the expert medical evidence, but the proceedings themselves. The hearing took place on the third day of the UK’s coronavirus lock-down. Of the two counsels representing Mr Assange, Edward Fitzgerald QC wore a facemask and Mark Summers QC participated via audiolink. US attorneys joined the proceedings by phone.
Mr Assange himself appeared by videolink, which was terminated after around an hour, rendering him unable to follow the remainder of his own hearing, including the defence summation and the District Judge’s ruling. Mr Assange’s supporters attending in person observed social distancing measures. Overall only 15 people were in attendance, including judge, counsel, and observers……..
Adding their legal voices to these medical and human rights authorities, the day after Mr Assange’s bail hearing, three professors in law and criminology recommended “granting bail to unsentenced prisoners to stop the spread of coronavirus”.[12]
Julian Assange is just such an unsentenced prisoner with significant health vulnerability. He is being held on remand, with no custodial sentence or UK charge in place, let alone conviction.
Doctors4Assange are additionally concerned that keeping Assange in Belmarsh not only increases his risk of contracting coronavirus, it will increase his isolation and his inability to prepare his defence for his upcoming extradition hearing, in violation of his human right to prepare a defence…… https://consortiumnews.com/2020/04/01/assange-extradition-doctors-warning-on-assange-in-a-covid-19-breeding-ground/
EDF workers at Hinkley Point C nuclear site are a major health risk to local residents
accommodation around Hinkley Point are a major health risk to residents and should be moved out to purpose-built campuses which have strict health precautions, local councillors urged this week.workforce by half to around 2,000 in the coming days in an attempt to limit
the spread of the coronavirus, it was claimed that while residents were in
lockdown, HPC construction workers could “come and go as they wish”.
“People are very scared and concerned,” said Cllr Chris Morgan,
chairman of Stogursey Parish Council and the area’s councillor on
Somerset West and Taunton Council. “What is happening is a recipe for
disaster.”
Hinkley workforce, “you have still got a very large group of people doing
what everyone else has been told not to do. “We have a large multiple
occupation building (HMO) in the middle of the village, another in Castle
Street, one in Burton and many rented rooms, all full of people going to
work, coming back, using the shops, all mixing together.
particularly in Stogursey parish, is that we still have contractors who
quite rightly go home at the weekends, some to the Covid 19 hotspots of
South Wales and the West Midlands, and then return to the middle of our
local community, totally untested, before they return to the site.
measures can be taken, but at the moment it seems that the only real
control over the situation would be to shut the site down, which I don’t
think will happen because it is a critical national infrastructure
project.” https://www.wsfp.co.uk/article.cfm?id=123896&headline=Health%20fears%20over%20Hinkley%20workers
EDF, French company building Hinkley Point power station, shifts workers’ costs to UK govt
Coronavirus: EDF to furlough Hinkley Point workers after reducing site numbers, Edward Thicknesse CITY A.M. 29 Mar 20, Hundreds of workers at EDF’s Hinkley Point C nuclear plant are being furloughed after the firm decided to cut the number of workers on site by more than half.
In an attempt to cut costs, the Telegraph reported that many of the site’s workers are being moved onto the government’s employee retention scheme, which guarantees them 80 per cent of their wages.
In an attempt to cut costs, the Telegraph reported that many of the site’s workers are being moved onto the government’s employee retention scheme, which guarantees them 80 per cent of their wages.
Although some of the 2,000 or so workers moved off the nuclear site in Somerset will continue to work in back office roles, the requirement to pay the majority will now shift to the government.
Those initially set to be moved onto the Treasury scheme are contractors working on the site, not EDF employees.
The French firm said: “Hinkley Point C has reduced the number of workers on its site to enable safe working. The project has not asked for any additional Government support and the majority of workers will remain in employment”.
It is understood that contractors are furloughing 500 or so employees, with the intention to bring them back onto payroll as soon as possible.
EDF has not issued a statement on whether it expects the coronavirus pandemic to impact the project’s timeline. …..
EDF’s decision to reduce its workforce came after the government came under pressure to suspend all non-essential construction work over safety concerns.
Politicians of all stripes, from London mayor Sadiq Khan to Tory ex-minister Iain Duncan Smith hit out against the government’s decision not to pause all such work for the duration of the crisis. https://www.cityam.com/coronavirus-edf-to-furlough-hinkley-point-workers-after-reducing-site-numbers/
Government under pressure to suspend non-essential construction work (such as building nuclear plants)
“The judgment we have made is that in work, in many instances, the 2m rule can be applied,” he said.
However critics say public health should be prioritised over the economy during the coronavirus outbreak.
Former Tory cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith joined those calling for a temporary suspension of work. He told the BBC: “I think the balance is where we should delete some of those construction workers from going to work and focus only on the emergency requirements.”
The confusion over who is able to work came after Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s announced a nationwide lockdown in a televised address on Monday night.
The PM said people should only leave their homes to shop for basic goods, fulfil medical needs, to exercise and to travel to work when “absolutely necessary”. However the types of work considered necessary has not yet been made clear….. https://www.cityam.com/government-under-pressure-to-suspend-non-essential-construction-work/
1 This Month
26 April – Chernobyl: Inside the Meltdown airs on National Geographic on Sunday 26th April from 4pm
29 April – Nuclear Expert Webinar #1 – Radiation Impacts on Families with Mary Olson and Cindy Folkers
- 12:15 PM MT – 1:45 PM MT
- Location: Virtual – REGISTER TODAY
4 May -West Suburban Peace Coalition to discuss Iran war at May Educational Forum
Monday, May 4, 7:00 – 8:00 PM Central Standard Time
Title: : How Trump’s Narrative Tries to Shape the Reality of the War on Iran.
Contact Walt Zlotow, zlotow@hotmail.com 630 442 3045 for further information
14 May – online event From Bombs to Data Centres: the Face of Nuclear Colonialism
Pine Ridge Uranium is the real threat, not Tehran- Tell Burgum: Stop the Extraction.
Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes – A good documentary on Chernobyl on SBS available On Demand for the next 3 weeks– https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-program/chernobyl-the-lost-tapes/2352741955560
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
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