You report Ebley Mill wins an award for it's health and safety in the workplace (16/06/04). This is great, but when you also report that Berkeley Nuclear Power Station wins an award, it makes you wonder what sort of an award it might be.

All nuclear power stations have near-by cancer clusters many times the national average. The industry doesn't have proper insurance; figures suggest it has less than one percent of the full costs of liabilities for a "Maximum Credible Accident". We also, still don't know how to safely dispose of the radioactive waste.

Berkeley power station recently admitted to dangerous breaches of the anti-terrorist no-fly zone by aircraft. An accident or a terrorist attack could trigger another Chernobyl, that led to thousands fleeing their homes and huge areas of contaminated lands. Indeed eighteen years on and there are still 400 farms in the UK contaminated and subject to regular testing.

The nuclear option is fraught with environmental, human health, financial and terrorism risks. Nuclear power is by far the most expensive form of energy ever generated, yet the government is considering building more nuclear power stations. Why are they not acting seriously on renewable energy? Labour is giving £550 million to the aerospace industry to help build a new airbus, but just £20 million for solar energy. Its pathetic target is to build as many solar roofs in three years as Germany (under a Green Party environment minister) builds in a good month.

Why is the government also not acting on conservation measures? A recent US study demonstrated that spending $5.2 billion on energy conservation in the federal governments 500,000 buildings would lead to savings of $1 billion each year, indefinitely. This is a massive return by any standard.

Martin Whiteside, Gloucestershire Green Party