Published at 12:12, Thursday, 16 October 2008

NEARLY 900 people have signed a petition demanding Cumbria County Council opposes any move to create a new nuclear dump in the county.

TIM KNOWLES: “Nobody is rushing into anything”

By Robert Johnson

Activists from West Cumbria Friends of the Earth do not want the area to be put forward as a “volunteer” for an underground repository.

Copeland Borough Council has already expressed its interest to the government in having a new store created in the district.

Campaigners presented a 893-name petition against any dump proposal to Tim Knowles, the county councillor responsible for economy and the environment, yesterday.

It followed a seven-week study by FoE to gauge local opinion on the plans.

Nuclear issues campaigner Dr Ruth Balogh, who presented the petition, said there should be “a well-informed public debate” looking at issues such as chemistry, geology and engineering. Yesterday was the deadline for groups to tell the county council its opinions on future waste storage.

FoE nuclear researcher Dr Rachel Western said it was “highly inappropriate” for Cumbrians to be asked to express an interest in hosting a deep burial site for radioactive wastes because it was unclear what the implications would be.

Opponents argue that the science of disposal is unproven and that bedrock in the county is unsuitable to create an underground store.

Environmentalists believe a decision on where to build a nuclear store should be taken on geological, engineering and scientific reasons – rather than any local “willingness”.

Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk