EDF buys British Energy - but pockets of opposition are emerging

With the purchase of British Energy by Electricite de France (EDF) the battlefront over nuclear energy is now focused firmly on the proposed sites. Bradwell in Essex is one of the sites where it is proposed to have a mega nuclear reactor and storage of highly radioactive spent fuel on site.

In an innovative - and well timed - move, Colchester Borough Council's Strategic Overview and Scrutiny Panel, held their meeting in public in West Mersea, which is situated on the Blackwater estuary directly opposite and downwind of Bradwell. This could be the beginning of a process of genuine public engagement which other communities might copy.

In a packed hall, many anxieties were aired and questions asked by both residents and Councillors. The Panel engaged in a discussion of the various issues with experts: Andy Blowers, OBE (Professor of Social Sciences, The Open University, and member of the Government's first Committee on Radioactive Waste Management - CoRWM), Steve Thomas (Professor of Energy, University of Greenwich), Robin Grimes (Professor of Materials Physics, Imperial College) and Dr. Bill Nuttall (Senior Lecturer in Technology Policy at the Judge Business School, Cambridge). Representatives of the regulators and one from the Department of Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) were also present.

During the meeting, one thing became clear, to the dismay of all there. Adam Dawson, of the Government's Office for Nuclear Development (set up on 18 September by BERR), confirmed that "new stations will have to store waste on site for 100 years" from the start of operations. In addition it was confirmed that the wastes from the old Bradwell station would not be cleared up for 100 years. Given that there is at present no solution for the long-term management of these wastes, the Blackwater faces the prospect of a high-level rate of radioactivity on a site that is liable to inundation, until at least well into the 22nd century.

Among the many other anxieties raised during the evening were:

• the illogicality of having a new power station on a site which is a long way from the centre of demand - London;

• the costs and problems of defending a site that is liable to sea-level rise, flooding, storm surges and retreating coast;

• the volumes of cooling water required for a mega station, which might require the building of cooling towers;

• the impact of heating in a shallow estuary with implications for its seafood and sealife, recreation and its environmentally sensitive and protected areas;

• the impact on the landscape of upgrading to new and tall pylons and the blight that these would cause over a very wide area;

• the problems of emergency planning and the evacuation of Mersea Island in the event of a serious incident and the possibility that information might be given to residents too late, as happened with the radioactive leaks in France last July;

• the possibility of a higher incidence of childhood cancers and effects on pregnancy in proximity to an operating power station;

• concern that although the Government says there will be no subsidies for new nuclear power, the reality has always been that if new build happens, the public purse pays when things go wrong;

• concerns that nuclear would provide no solution to the energy gap and have only a minimal impact on climate change, so if it was not needed anywhere, it was certainly not needed at an unsuitable site like Bradwell.

Residents were pleased at the concern shown by the Panel who listened very carefully to the issues and agreed to investigate some of these further.

After the meeting, Professor Andy Blowers, who is also the Chair of the Blackwater Against New Nuclear Group (BANNG), said: 'This was a significant meeting for which the Scrutiny Panel took the time to meet with people who are most anxious about a new nuclear power station. The idea of putting people and the environment at risk both now and in the far future by building a power station and high-level radioactive waste facility on a vulnerable site frankly beggars belief.'.

[END]

Note to Editors

Andrew Blowers is Professor of Social Sciences at the Open University and was a member of the first Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM). He is Chair of the Blackwater Against New Nuclear Group (BANNG).

He can be contacted as follows:

Tel. No.: 07932.644482

e-mail: a.t.blowers@open.ac.uk