Press Release - 12 March 2011

The nuclear accident in Japan is a stark warning of the dangers of nuclear power in this country, the Stop Hinkley campaign said today.

Reports from Japan say that one of the reactors at the Fukushima nuclear power station has suffered a serious loss of cooling water following the earthquake that hit the northern part of the country. This allowed temperatures to rise in the reactor core, risking the possibility of a complete meltdown.

Electricite de France, the energy company applying to build a third power station at Hinkley Point, has admitted safety weaknesses affecting 34 of the nuclear reactors it operates in France.

The “anomaly”, highlighted by the French state regulatory body Autorité de Sureté Nucleaire ( ASN ), means that if cooling water is lost from the reactor's primary pressure circuit, the back-up water injection safety system may not be able to prevent a meltdown of the core.

Nuclear power is dangerous, dirty and expensive. The government is currently putting a framework in place to kick-start a new generation of nuclear power stations. Now is the time to create a massive public outcry and stop this plan in its tracks. Please join us and use this leaflet to counter the nuclear myths.