Skip Navigation | HOME | UK Indymedia | Editorial Guidelines | Mission Statement | About Us | Contact | Help | Support Us

West Country Features | UK Features | West Country Newswire | UK Newswire |

NUCLEAR WASTE: CONFIRMED 'THERE IS NO SOLUTION'

Philip Booth, Gloucestershire Green party | 20.03.2006 12:09 | Analysis | Ecology | Health | Technology | South Coast

The Gloucestershire Green party have made a submission to the Government's nuclear waste consultation which has just closed. Glos Greens also sent a representative to the recent Round Table discussion with the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) in Bristol and have consulted with many experts to write the 35-page submission which has been described by other environmentalists as 'one of the best' on the issue (i).

Martin Whiteside, the Green party's Parliamentary candidate for Stroud, said: "The Government's own nuclear waste advisers, CORWM, have already concluded that, 'If Ministers accept our recommendations, the UK's nuclear waste problem is not solved.' (ii). We simply cannot ensure a safe, secure and stable repository for our nuclear waste - there is also much we don't know and the risks posed by under-estimation of the problems and on false reliance on untested models could be catastrophic."

Martin Whiteside, who is also a District councillor said: "We have, for example, already miscalculated nuclear storage with some containers already completely disintegrating. Fortunately those containers have been refurbished, but this experience provides some indication of the difficulty of assuring the lifetime of waste containers. We just don't know how to store our existing waste safely, never mind creating more.”

Martin Whiteside said: "This submission only adds to what the Green Party has been saying for years: Nuclear power is unsafe, uneconomic and unsustainable. It is not the answer to climate change as the government suggests, as it only provides 5% of our total energy needs. What is sorely lacking in government is the political will and courage to recognise nuclear power for what it is: a nightmare."

Martin Whiteside concluded: "The UK is at an energy crossroads. Nuclear is not the way forward. We desperately need to reduce our energy consumption - through energy effciency, and invest in renewable sources of power to create a sustainble supply."

Jim Duffy, from the Stop Hinkley group, which has campaigned for years against the nuclear reactors in Somerset, said: "This submission is one of the best summaries I have read on this issue and clearly shows the grave problems we have with nuclear waste. We have an onus to face these problems, but this report really confirms the importance of a commitment by the government to stop producing more of this waste."



Notes for Editors:

(i) The full submission can be downloaded free from the 'Report' section at: www.glosgreenparty.org.uk

(ii) The CoRWM report says:
Paragraph 64 : 'If Ministers accept our recommendations, the UK's nuclear waste problem is not solved. Having a strategy is a start. The real challenge follows.'

Extracts from description of status of the report:
'The Committee is currently completing the third and final phase of its programme: assessing its short-listed options for managing the UK's radioactive waste and recommending the best option or combination to Government. It decided in autumn 2005 to start preparing its final report, beginning with an outline and introductory Chapters, then progressively adding more material, starting with its work to date and ending with its final conclusions and recommendations. This is the current version of the report.'

Philip Booth, Gloucestershire Green party
- e-mail: press@glosgreenparty.org.uk
- Homepage: http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk

Download this article in pdf format >>

Email this article to someone >>

Submit an addition or make a quick comment on this article >>

Comments

Display the following 3 comments

  1. No Solution? — Silicone Synapse
  2. with the greatest respect — Danny
  3. Bollocks. — Oscar

Publish

Publish your news

Do you need help with publishing?

Kollektives

Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World

Other UK IMCs
Bristol/South West
London
Northern Indymedia
Scotland

Server Appeal

West Country Topics

Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
Indymedia
Migration
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Workers' Movements
Zapatista

West Country Actions 2007

West Country Actions 2006

April 2006 No Borders Days of Action
Art and Activism Caravan 2006
Climate Camp 2006
French CPE uprising 2006
G8 Russia 2006
Lebanon War 2006
March 18 Anti War Protest
Mayday 2006
Oaxaca Uprising
Refugee Week 2006
Rossport Solidarity
Transnational Day of Action Against Migration Controls
WSF 2006

West Country Actions 2005

DSEi 2005
G8 2005
WTO Hong Kong 2005

West Country Actions 2004

European Social Forum
FBI Server Seizure
May Day 2004
Venezuela

West Country Actions 2003

Bush 2003
DSEi 2003
Evian G8
May Day 2003
No War F15
Saloniki Prisoner Support
Thessaloniki EU
WSIS 2003

Languages

english

IMCs


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech