22nd December 2006

Front page of The Gazette today carries an aricle about nuclear waste storage at the Berkeley site.

The proposal by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is to build a reinforced concrete store for Intermediate-level nuclear waste (ILW) on the licensed site. The store would hold waste from Berkeley power station only. The paper quotes Green party spokesperson, Philip Booth. His full statement tyo the press is below.

Comment re Berkeley decommissioning:

Stroud District Green Party Spokesperson Cllr. Philip Booth, who helped compile several Green party's submissions to the recent Government consultations on nuclear waste (i), said: "Regrettably an intermediate level nuclear waste store is the least worst option, but it must not take waste from elsewhere and it must be properly water proof as sea-level rises are forecast."

Philip Booth added: "However clearly the best way to begin dealing with this hugely costly nuclear waste is to stop producing it. It is crazy the Government are planning new nuclear reactors that produce even more of the higher levels of radioactive waste."

Philip Booth added: "The government are also planning to bury toxic waste deep in the earth, but this is an unproven, unsustainable and unpredictable route to follow. We have already produced vast quantities of radioactive waste, some of which will be deadly dangerous for tens of thousands of years: yet we can't predict how climate change, might impact on this nor the effects the next Ice Age might have in 100,000 years time. Storing this stuff deep underground is asking for problems - the dangers presented by climate change may affect water table levels and geological structures and are likely to impact upon waste storage in ways previously undreamed of. At a time when no safe storage options have been found, it would be irresponsible in the extreme to build new nuclear power stations to add to this deadly toxic legacy."

Notes:

(i) See report re CORWM