Your editorial comment (21/01/04) suggests we would be better off not worrying about the threat of a nuclear disaster. I agree - but this doesn't mean burying our heads in the sand! The Green Party's approach is to develop renewable alternatives and remove the worry by closing all the nuclear sites. Something that is quite possible despite Francis Otway's assertions to the contrary (letters 21/01/04). I am sure the safety standards at Oldbury nuclear power station are high, but as a recent parliamentary response declared, Oldbury was designed to run only until 1993 and parts of the core are 55 percent depleted. Accidents do happen despite the best will in the world,and the government has warned that nuclear sites could be targets for terrorist attacks. Your editorial seems to question the pre-distribution of potassium iodate tablets to everyone living within a hundred miles of a nuclear power station (to prevent thyroid cancer following a radiation leak). Yet this measure was proposed by independent nuclear consultants Large and Associates, in a recent report that showed our local councils are not equipped to deal with the aftermath of a major accident at Oldbury. Our government has already issued tablets to residents living close to nuclear sites as they acknowledge the possibility of an accident. In the event of an explosion, deadly gas could travel vast distances, as it did after Chernobyl and Windscale (now Sellafield). Oldbury is only 16 miles from Stroud and it would not be possible to distribute these tablets to people quickly enough following a disaster. Pre-distribution is a measure to deal sensibly and cheaply with a very serious risk. You also mention worries about salmon, BSE, Salmonella and pesticides. More examples of where profit is put before people. But rather than worry ourselves to an early grave, let us turn our concerns into actions and join with others to make a real difference to this world.

Martin Whiteside, Stroud District Councillor and Green Party Parliamentary Candidate. Hillside, Claypits Lane, Lypiatt, Stroud, Glos. GL6 7LU.