Protestors want the licence from Natural Resources Wales (NRW) which permitted the dredging to be scrapped, amid worries the mud could be contaminated from discharges from Hinkley. In the assembly on Wednesday, Cardiff North AM Julie Morgan asked why the dumping site was chosen “when it’s only two kilometres from the shore”, and what the benefits to south Wales were. ……..
UK: Labour parliamentarians raise concerns about Nuclear plant mud dumping
Nuclear plant mud dumping worries raised by Labour AMs , BBC News, 19 September 2018
Two senior Labour AMs have raised concerns in the Senedd about the dumping of mud from a nuclear plant site into the sea near Cardiff.
Julie Morgan and Jane Hutt – both close to leadership frontrunner Mark Drakeford – said constituents had safety worries about dredging 300,000 tonnes of mud from Hinkley Point.
Dumping began last week. AMs were told the mud poses no risk to human health.
Campaigners have called for more tests, and are seeking an injunction.
Ms Morgan and Ms Hutt quizzed Rural Affairs Secretary Lesley Griffiths following a topical question raised by independent AM Neil McEvoy.
The project to build the new Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in Somerset includes dredging mud and sediment from Bristol Channel near the sites of the decommissioned Hinkley Point A and B nuclear plants, and disposing of it just over a mile out to sea from Cardiff Bay.
EDF subsidiary NNB Generation Company (HPC) Ltd argued that mud dumping near Cardiff did not need an environmental impact assessment
Wales Online 17th Sept 2018 , Protesters seeking an injunction to stop the dumping of mud from HinkleyPoint nuclear power station off the coast of Cardiff have had their
application adjourned after the energy company behind the dumping admitted
it had given inaccurate information to the High Court.
In documents submitted to the court in Cardiff by NNB Generation Company (HPC) Ltd – a
wholly owned subsidiary of the French energy giant EDF – it was argued
that the dumping did not require an environmental impact assessment (EIA)
under European regulations.
wholly owned subsidiary of the French energy giant EDF – it was argued
that the dumping did not require an environmental impact assessment (EIA)
under European regulations.
However, the company’s barrister James
McClelland told the court that an environmental statement was made by the
company at the time it sought approval for the whole Hinkley Point C power
station in Somerset, the successor to two previous nuclear power stations
on the same site.
McClelland told the court that an environmental statement was made by the
company at the time it sought approval for the whole Hinkley Point C power
station in Somerset, the successor to two previous nuclear power stations
on the same site.
Dozens of peaceful protesters assembled outside Cardiff
Civil Justice Centre before the hearing, not all of whom were able to get
seats in the court room. Opponents of the dumping say they fear radioactive
particles present in the mud could pose a health threat. More than 100,000
people have signed petitions against the dumping.
Civil Justice Centre before the hearing, not all of whom were able to get
seats in the court room. Opponents of the dumping say they fear radioactive
particles present in the mud could pose a health threat. More than 100,000
people have signed petitions against the dumping.
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/live-updates-protest-held-cardiff-15162790
Hypocrisy of UK government on nuclear disarmament
David Lowry’s Blog 18th Sept 2018 , All this week the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog body, the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has held its annual (62nd)
General Conference in Vienna. On 17 September, the junior Foreign Office
minister Sir Alan Duncan, told the conference “We live in an increasingly
uncertain and dangerous world. We have seen the destabilising consequences
when States pursue nuclear weapons. And we have worked together to prevent
terrorists acquiring nuclear material”.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has held its annual (62nd)
General Conference in Vienna. On 17 September, the junior Foreign Office
minister Sir Alan Duncan, told the conference “We live in an increasingly
uncertain and dangerous world. We have seen the destabilising consequences
when States pursue nuclear weapons. And we have worked together to prevent
terrorists acquiring nuclear material”.
This statement makes a lot of sense, until it is put in the context of what his own British Government is
doing in wasting £205,000 m (£205 billion) of tax payers’ money of
replacing the Trident nuclear WMD system, which makes the faux concern over
nuclear weapons pure, unadulterated hypocrisy.
doing in wasting £205,000 m (£205 billion) of tax payers’ money of
replacing the Trident nuclear WMD system, which makes the faux concern over
nuclear weapons pure, unadulterated hypocrisy.
To put the scale of this gross hypocrisy in context, Duncan asserted in Vienna that he UK had
“already contributed £4.1 million this year to the Nuclear Security
Fund,” and urged all to “support the Agency’s work to help Member
States implement robust nuclear security regimes.”
“already contributed £4.1 million this year to the Nuclear Security
Fund,” and urged all to “support the Agency’s work to help Member
States implement robust nuclear security regimes.”
This ‘do as we say, not as we do’ policy cuts zero ice with the vast majority of sensible
Governments, who want genuine global nuclear disarmament, not shameful
finger-wagging from countries bristling with deadly nuclear weapons like
the UK.
http://drdavidlowry.blogspot.com/2018/09/atomic-hypocrisy-peaks-in-vienna.html
Governments, who want genuine global nuclear disarmament, not shameful
finger-wagging from countries bristling with deadly nuclear weapons like
the UK.
http://drdavidlowry.blogspot.com/2018/09/atomic-hypocrisy-peaks-in-vienna.html
Brexit has brought Britain to a standstill
Bloomberg 19th Sept 2018 , . “The country—as an
administrative entity—has virtually stopped working.” The energy issue
has been particularly badly hit. “There are the micro-processes of
government that are in turmoil because of the revolving doors of ministers,
and then there’s been the internal party fighting and squabbling, which
is then consuming all of the political oxygen,” says Mary Creagh, a
lawmaker for the opposition Labour Party and chair of Parliament’s
Environment Committee. “It means the normal decision-making of government
is not happening and has not happened for two years.”
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-19/brexit-has-brought-britain-to-a-standstill
administrative entity—has virtually stopped working.” The energy issue
has been particularly badly hit. “There are the micro-processes of
government that are in turmoil because of the revolving doors of ministers,
and then there’s been the internal party fighting and squabbling, which
is then consuming all of the political oxygen,” says Mary Creagh, a
lawmaker for the opposition Labour Party and chair of Parliament’s
Environment Committee. “It means the normal decision-making of government
is not happening and has not happened for two years.”
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-19/brexit-has-brought-britain-to-a-standstill
Britain’s energy regulator trying to gag whistleblowers
Guardian 17th Sept 2018 Britain’s energy regulator has been fighting to keep secret the claims of
two whistleblowers who independently raised concerns about potentially
serious irregularities in projects worth billions of pounds, the Guardian
can reveal. The two men say Ofgem threatened them with an obscure but
sweeping gagging clause that can lead to criminal prosecutions and possible
jail terms for those who defy it.
https://www.theguardian.com/law/2018/sep/17/ofgem-made-my-life-hell-whistleblowers-say-they-were-threatened-by-regulator
Judge calls for developers to clarify whether Hinkley radioactive mud dumping is covered by an environmental impact assessment (EIA)
BBC 17th Sept 2018 , Developers must clarify whether dumping mud from near a nuclear plant iscovered by an environmental impact assessment (EIA), a judge has said.
Judge Milwyn Jarman said EDF’s evidence was “not accurate on a very
important point” on whether material dredged from the seabed near Hinkley
Point C site in Somerset was included in the EIA. Campaigners want an injunction to halt the dumping that began last week. A High Court hearing
in Cardiff has been adjourned for seven days.
important point” on whether material dredged from the seabed near Hinkley
Point C site in Somerset was included in the EIA. Campaigners want an injunction to halt the dumping that began last week. A High Court hearing
in Cardiff has been adjourned for seven days.
About 300,000 tonnes is to be
dredged from the seabed near the building site and deposited in the Cardiff
Grounds, a mile off the coast of the Welsh capital. Energy firm EDF, which
is behind the £19.6bn plan to build the nuclear plant, argued the mud dump
was addressed in a main environment statement that formed part of the main
planning application for Hinkley Point C and was approved by the UK
Government.
dredged from the seabed near the building site and deposited in the Cardiff
Grounds, a mile off the coast of the Welsh capital. Energy firm EDF, which
is behind the £19.6bn plan to build the nuclear plant, argued the mud dump
was addressed in a main environment statement that formed part of the main
planning application for Hinkley Point C and was approved by the UK
Government.
But the judge said that was not clear from a witness statement
the company had submitted to court. The firm’s barrister James McClelland
accepted the wording could have been made clearer. Legal action is being
brought by the Campaign Against Hinkley Mud Dumping, which includes Super
Furry Animals keyboard player Cian Ciaran. Campaigners asked for a
temporary injunction to be imposed until the next hearing, but the request
was turned down. Neil McEvoy AM said campaigners were planning to organise
a blockade in an effort to halt the dumping. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-45546550
the company had submitted to court. The firm’s barrister James McClelland
accepted the wording could have been made clearer. Legal action is being
brought by the Campaign Against Hinkley Mud Dumping, which includes Super
Furry Animals keyboard player Cian Ciaran. Campaigners asked for a
temporary injunction to be imposed until the next hearing, but the request
was turned down. Neil McEvoy AM said campaigners were planning to organise
a blockade in an effort to halt the dumping. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-45546550
EDF misrepresents Greenpeace – Greenpeace DOES see the Hinkley mud as radioactive and toxic
Glamorgan Gem 13th Sept 2018 , Greenpeace has complained that EDF Energy, which owns the power station at Hinkley Point, has misrepresented the Greenpeace position on the dredging of mud from the Hinkley site and its disposal off the south Wales coast.
EDF says the mud poses no risk and Natural Resources Wales says it is safe, but local campaigners are demanding more tests are done. Disposal of the
mud began on Monday, September 10.
On Wednesday this week Greenpeace released a statement demanding that EDF stops stating that Greenpeace accepts the mud isn’t ‘toxic’. A Greenpeace spokesman said: “We request in the strongest terms that EDF ceases from stating that Greenpeace accepts that the mud is not toxic as that is not our current view.
http://www.glamorgan-gem.co.uk/article.cfm?id=122935&headline=Greenpeace%20and%20EDF%20in%20%E2%80%98toxic%E2%80%99%20stand-off%20on%20Hinkley%20mud§ionIs=news&searchyear=2018
Frazer-Nash, engineering consultants, going for new nuclear power in a big way
World Nuclear News 14th Sept 2018 , Consultants Frazer-Nash, in collaboration with Rolls-Royce, the National
Nuclear Laboratory (NNL), EDF Energy, Jacobsen Analytics, Lancaster
University, University of Bristol and University of York are set to deliver
a nuclear safety and security research contract. Frazer-Nash said yesterday
that, working on behalf of the Department of Business, Energy and
Industrial Strategy (BEIS), the GBP3.6 million (USD4.7 million), two-year
project, aims to deliver a “step change in the UK’s capability as the
country moves toward an era of new nuclear build and new technologies”.
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/UK-companies-to-deliver-safety-and-security-resear
Police raid nuclear expert Dr Chris Busby’s Bideford home with absurd story he’s a bomb-maker
Bideford radiation expert held over home chemicals, BBC News, 13 September 2018A radiation scientist has spoken of his anger at being arrested on suspicion of making a bomb.Two police officers “felt unwell” during a visit to Dr Chris Busby’s home in Bideford, Devon, which boasts its own laboratory.
The 73-year-old said he was held for 19 hours under the Explosives Act before being released with no further action………..
A cordon was set up around his home on Wednesday morning when the two officers complained of feeling unwell – which Dr Busby attributed to “psychological problems associated with their knowledge of the Skripal poisoning”.
The scientist said he was handcuffed and interviewed all night by police who suspected he was making a bomb, but the only substances found at his home were “innocuous chemicals for research into radiation”.
He returned home that night to find officers had searched his home laboratory and sealed off his home in Bridge Street.
“They destroyed my experiment. It was most irritating,” he said.
Dr Busby said he felt he was being targeted because of his criticism of the government’s current assessment of radiation risks.
The force said the affected officers were unharmed and there was no risk to the wider public.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-45516797
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ReplyForward
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British government ploughs on with nuclear new-build plans, but there are all sorts of risks
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But although the government’s broad commitment is secure, little remains of its original vision of a series-build approach that would cut costs and build a domestic industry. In practice, the UK has become something of a test bed for Asian reactor exporters, rather than a new rebirth for European nuclear, with Chinese and Japanese companies leading projects. The UK nuclear new-build programme has been a casualty of both global nuclear industry failures and a changing domestic power industry, which has seen dramatic falls in the cost of offshore wind and a boom in interconnection. Nuclear still has strong political backing – in fact, it seems that the government will have to take some kind of stake in future projects. That is partly because the projects are seen as so risky by investors, and partly because successive reports by parliamentarians and UK financial watchdogs, like the National Audit Office, have pointed out that the government’s insistence that it had transferred that risk to the private sector had been a major factor in raising costs, because the government could secure cheaper finance for the project than the private sector. Far from giving the go-ahead for a series, the influential National Infrastructure Commission said this year in its National Infrastructure Assessment that “Government should not agree support for more than one nuclear power station beyond Hinkley Point C before 2025.” Continue reading |
Leading businesses join London’s Climate Action Week, pledging 100% renewable enegy
Business Green 14th Sept 2018 Companies have pledged to power their London-premises with 100 per cent
renewable energy,as Sadiq Khan announces first London Climate Action Week
Eleven leading businesses, including Tesco, Sky, and Siemens, have
partnered with London Mayor Sadiq Khan in support of plans to make the
capital a zero carbon city by 2050. The companies announced yesterday they
will work with the Mayor’s Office to cut levels of pollution and emissions
beyond current government targets, while also committing to power their
London premises with 100 per cent renewable energy by 2020 and supporting
the transition towards zero-emission vehicles.
https://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/3062752/zero-carbon-capital-businesses-team-up-with-london-mayor-in-decarbonisation-drive
Under cover of darkness, EDF dumps 2,000 tons of ‘nuclear mud’ near Cardiff, UK
IN THE DARK, THE FIRST 2,000 TONS OF ‘NUCLEAR MUD’ IS DUMPED OFF PENARTH https://penarthnews.wordpress.com/2018/09/11/in-the-dark-the-first-2000-tons-of-pollution-is-dumped-off-penarth/ September 11, 2018
The first of hundreds of consignments of allegedly radioactive mud from the Somerset coast (adjacent to the Hinkley Point nuclear power station) was deposited off Penarth last night under cover of darkness.
The curious looking Belgian motor-hopper Sloeber made her first round trip from Hinkley Point to the Cardiff Grounds – a mile off shore from Penarth. She then opened-up her belly underwater to disgorge thousands of tonnes of mud on one massive “bowel movement” – last night .
Although the Conservative-run Vale of Glamorgan Council has protested about the mud dumping scheme, not a single Labour Assembly member, councillor or MP has raised a so much as a peep of protest about what is easily the worst-ever case of deliberate pollution ever witnessed in Wales.
Last night the Belgian hopper MV Sloeber – loaded with 2,000 tonnes of mud dredged from the sea bed adjacent to 3 Somerset nuclear power stations – sailed around the far side of the Monkstone light and skirted the sandbanks. As night fell she turned to port and headed directly towards Penarth, pausing just a mile offshore to dump her controversial cargo into the shallow sea of the “Cardiff Grounds” – which up to now have only been used to deposit dredged mud from the approach channel to Cardif Docks .
Sloeber’s party trick is to split herself open from stem to stern with both halves of the ship opening up wide below the waterline to allow her cargo of mud to fall out of the ship under its own considerable weight .
In 3 months or so, when all the thousands of tonnes of mud from Hinkley Point have been dumped in the sea in Welsh waters, the French energy company EDF will be able to wash its hands of all responsibility for this material and whatever lurks within it.
…As of last night the first consignment of English ‘nuclear mud’ become Wales’s problem. The mud dropped from the belly of MV Sloeber last night will soon be washed ashore on the coastline between Penarth and Lavernock – and could permanently change the shoreline.
Experts say the consequences of this operation – which involves the dumping of over 320,000 tonnes of English nuclear mud in Welsh Waters – may not become apparent for generations.
Meanwhile Sloeber returned to Hinkley Point to load more mud for another visit to Wales later today.
European Court of Human Rights finds UK’s bulk surveillance powers to be illegal
Edward Snowden surveillance powers ruled unlawful https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-45510662
EDF has started dumping Hinkley radioactive mud, despite 100, 000 petitioners against this
Wales Online 11th Sept 2018 , EDF has confirmed it has started to dump mud from the Hinkley Point nuclear
power station in the Severn Estuary off Cardiff. The news came on the same
day that rock musician and anti-nuclear campaigner Cian Ciaran lodged
papers at the High Court seeking an injunction to stop the dumping. The
papers name NNB Generation Company (HPC) Ltd as the respondent in the
action. The firm is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the French energy company
EDF, which obtained a licence to carry out the dumping. More than 100,000
people have signed petitions against the dumping plans , which campaigners
say could pose health risks.
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/politics/radioactive-mud-dumping-begins-coast-15136164
Wales Online 12th Sept 2018 , Letter: It is hard for the layman to know whether or not the assurances
about the safety of the mud from Hinkley Point can be accepted at face
value. Other issues do arise as well, however. Will the addition of this
sizeable tonnage of waste at Cardiff Grounds have any effect on the flows
of sand and mud within the Bristol Channel?
We have all seen how the opposite process – dredging – has over the years changed the nature and
shape of various beaches, usually to their detriment. Also does any income
accrue to Wales from the use of this site for the receipt of waste material
from elsewhere? This is perhaps the least we might expect given the vast
sums of money which are being made available for this project.
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/western-mail-letters-wednesday-september-15140781
Hinkley nuclear deal with union – work will continue in the event of a worker death accident
Construction Enquirer 13th Sept 2018 , Construction union Unite has agreed a deal to carry on working if anyone is
killed during construction of the Hinkley Point nuclear power plant. The
Enquirer understands that construction workers were encouraged to agree to
the deal last month to protect payouts to the family of any worker who dies
on the project. It goes against standard practice to down tools on site in
the event of a fatality.
http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2018/09/13/hinkley-workers-sign-no-death-stoppage-deal/
killed during construction of the Hinkley Point nuclear power plant. The
Enquirer understands that construction workers were encouraged to agree to
the deal last month to protect payouts to the family of any worker who dies
on the project. It goes against standard practice to down tools on site in
the event of a fatality.
http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2018/09/13/hinkley-workers-sign-no-death-stoppage-deal/
1 This Month
PLEASE OPPOSE HR 8255 AND S.3639 – bills would accelerate satellite deployment, with no environmental review or safeguards – https://ncstd5li.quorum.us/campaign/169331/
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
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