N-waste repository: Let’s open talks before making decisions
Last updated at 23:06, Wednesday, 25 June 2008
THE people of Copeland will not have the country’s only underground nuclear waste repository “dumped on them” without having any say in the matter.
Copeland borough councillors agreed this week to open talks with the government about the area’s potential for a repository – but not accept one at this stage.
Council leader Elaine Woodburn said: “It is simply an expression of interest, completely without commitment, it is not saying we want a repository.
“At the end of the day that will be up to the people of Copeland.
“We have not said it needs to be here, all we are saying is that we will talk with the government and they in turn will give us the money to talk to our community and see what they think.”
Tory opposition group leader David Moore said: “Nobody has yet put their hands up to having a repository. All we’re doing is talking and opening up our boundaries for a possible geological survey to help identify a suitable site in Copeland.”
But Egremont labour councillor Sam Mateer declared: “I have grave concerns that we could be putting the people of Copeland and the wider community in harm’s way without them having their say.
“I think we are going to have this repository dumped on us even though it may not be the most suitable and safe place in the country.
“You are talking about something which is going to affect future generations for centuries.
“We have a moral obligation to ensure that any such repository is in the most appropriate and safe location.”
Miss Woodburn: “I agree we have a moral obligation, we have a duty to our community to sort it out and allow them to make a decision with the right information and independent advice in front of them.
“If this community eventually decides it wants to take a repository the top priority has to be safety of the environment and the people who live here.”
Tory councillor Alistair Norwood declared: “We do have a duty, we’ve got 70 per cent of the country’s waste stored at Sellafield above aground, so if we do nothing and leave it there it presents much more of a risk to future generations.”
Former Sellafield trades union leader John Kane said: “We have been storing waste on the site for 60 years. We need a commitment to see if the geology is suitable for an underground repository.
“It is about safety and if there is a suitable location and the community benefits to get the best possible deal for this area.”
Coun Robin Pitt (Cons) said: “We have been storing all this waste at Sellafield for decades with nothing back in return apart from the employment.
“Whether or not we get a repository here we should be demanding payment from the government for what people have already suffered and the risk faced.”
Coun Chris Whiteside, Copeland’s prospective parliamentary party Tory candidate, said: “This is not a done deal, this community has been taken for granted for a long time in the past and done a great service for the country for too small a price.”
Copeland Council’s director of development Fergus McMorrow said: “The bottom line is that a community has to be convinced a repository is safe and environmentally sustainable, also that the package of benefits that goes along with it is positive for that community and that if a decision to go forward is made then we have the power and the right information to make the right decision.”
First published at 16:04, Wednesday, 25 June 2008
Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk
In reply to Dale, I would say that the whole point of accepting to host the repository is for the whole community to gain from a massive investment. A descision to site it here will not have much of an impact on employment. Every community has a price. Let's make sure ours is not too low.
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The scheme was discredited at the last public inquiry on geotechnical, civil engineering and financial grounds. The proposal put forward was obfuscation at the nuclear industry's best. One BNFL ex-employee proposed an "in-mountain" scheme, but would not be given an hearing. The requirement of The Lake District Planning Board had a material effect upon the cost. It, in truth, is impractical to cart the waste at Sellafield all over the Country to an alternative site. The aborted costs, relative to the public inquiry were in excess of £0.5 Billion, and to that the latest costs relating to the CRWM farce. BNFL is a busted-lush and has been rom the outset in 1971.
Posted by Michael on 27 June 2008 at 11:07