UK nuclear plans, a major worry
Issued : Thursday 16 April, 2009
Statement by Nessa Childers MEP
The news today that the British Government intends to press ahead with a new generation of nuclear power stations will be of major concern to people up and down the east coast of Ireland.
According to media reports today, 11 areas have been identified as potential sites for nuclear stations, including four on the British west coast facing Ireland.
Thanks to our experience with to Sellafield, we in Ireland are all too aware as to how poor the UK track record is when it comes to nuclear safety. The idea that the British Government would give the go-ahead to a whole new batch of nuclear facilities while people still have major concerns about the existing ones, is worrying in the extreme.
There are still many unanswered questions about, for example, the link between the incidence of particular cancers in Co Louth, and discharges and leaks from Sellafield into the Irish Sea, while just last year we learned that although the MOX plant is to be decommissioned in 2020, it will be a century before the site ais actually safe! In that context, people can be forgiven for feeling apprehensive about the prospect of yet more nuclear facilities appearing on their doorstep.
You might have thought that with a Green Party Minister in situ in the Department of Energy that this issue would be at the top of the political agenda. Sadly the manner in which Minister Eamon Ryan has fallen asleep at the wheel on this matter does not inspire confidence.
I believe that the Irish Government should oppose these proposals in the clearest possible manner. In addition, the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland should be properly resourced so that the agency can conduct a risk assessment of the plans as a matter of urgency, and so that they can monitor the threat posed by these plants, on an ongoing basis.
