Christmas Gift to Cumbria?

All Allerdale and Copeland Borough Councillors have been sent a Christmas Card from Radiation Free Lakeland.

" The Ghost of Christmas Future?"

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If Charles Hendry MP has his way Cumbria will be permanently blighted.When questioned recently on the timetable for the geological disposal of high level nuclear waste, Charles Hendry the Minister in charge (DECC) said: "We've set up a geological disposal implementation board of which I am the chair. The board will look at what is necessary to take this to the next stage. We are very committed to the approach of the previous Government, who took a voluntarist approach to finding a community prepared to host this.

That, inevitably, is a gentle process. There have been three expressions of interest from within Cumbria-two from district councils and one from the county council-and we are taking those forward. From their perspective, I think they see this as being part of a nuclear renaissance. It isn't simply a facility for looking after the historical waste from the nuclear programme; they also want to see a nuclear renaissance in west Cumbria.

We are keen to take that work forward more rapidly, because I understand why colleagues here and others outside want to know where the site will be and when it will be operational. SO IT IS A GENTLE PROCESS FOR MOVING IT FORWARD, BUT WE RECOGNISE THE NEED TO MOVE IT FASTER" In other words, "Softly softly catchee monkey ie Cumbria.  (Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable...proverbial saying, early 20th century, advocating caution or guile as the best way to achieve an end).

Cumbrians are being expensively groomed (everytime we open a newspaper..) to accept geological disposal and new build but NOT FAST ENOUGH for The Department of Energy and Climate Change (who fund the Managing Radioactive Wastes Safely Partnership). Charles Hendry is saying :just forget all about the £400M Nirex (now NDA) spent on geologists. Just forget about those government commissioned geologists who found 15 years ago that nowhere in West Cumbria is suitable and that the search for a site to dump nuclear wastes should continue elsewhere - anywhere apart from Cumbria!

The Nirex Inspector said : "... the location should be in a region of low hydraulic gradients, so that there should be slow-moving & long groundwater pathways: and the geology & hydrogeology of the site and its district should be sufficiently uncomplicated as to be readily characterisable & predictable." [Inspector's Report, para. 6A.60] West Cumbria lies in a region of fast and high hydraulic gradients, where the groundwater pathways are very short where the geology is complex and not readily characterisable or predictable.

In the Nirex days Cumbrian councils strongly opposed geological disposal precisely because of the geologists findings. The geology has not changed - only the propaganda, bribery and the new planning law which would prevent an inquiry such as Nirex. To stand any chance at all of preventing the permanent blight that geological disposal of nuclear high level wastes would bring to Cumbria - the councils would need to withdraw their "expression of interest" and start strongly opposing.  

Cumbria needs protection. Who is going to do it? Radiation Free Lakeland?  Cumbrian Action on Climate Change? Greenpeace? Friends of the Earth?  All have expressed opposition to geological disposal in Lakeland but only the Cumbrian councils have the wherewithall to say NO to being seduced by nuclear spin and bribery (ie taxpayer not 'industry' money). Our rocks and land are perfect - but not for the geological disposal of high level nuclear wastes!

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Radiation Free Lakeland

Contact email: rafl@mariannebirkby.plus.com