Press Release – Radiation Free Lakeland -1st September 2011
Contact: Marianne Birkby 015395 63671 - email rafl[at]mariannebirkby.plus.com

Cumbrian Petition Opposes the World’s Top Trump Nuke Dump

Radiation Free Lakeland will be delivering a petition to Cumbria County
Council offices in Kendal at 11am on Monday 5th September. The petition
calls on Cumbria County Council and Copeland and Allerdale Borough
Councils to halt the Managing Radioactive Wastes Safely process by their
withdrawal . The government’s MRWS process has one agenda - “steps
towards geological disposal” which means a newly mined area (or two or
three) filled with high level radioactive wastes – in a hole(s) bigger
than Lake Windermere and as deep as the Eiffel Tower. (see Refs below)

Despite the implications for Cumbria and its neighbours this petition has
received almost no mainstream local or national press coverage -The MRWS
employ the services of a PR company (owned by Chair of Cumbria Tourism
Eric Robson and Paul Gardner former political speech writer) and other
'facilitators', costing the taxpayer £1M+ yearly (one example of expenses
package attached- there are more ). Positive press coverage is one of the
aims with adverts and multi page inserts into local press.

Many of the 1500 (tbc) signatures were collected at Gosforth Show where
the MRWS Partnership also had a stall. In 1995 Longlands Farm at Gosforth
was chosen as the most likely location for an intermediate level waste
dump. Following a public inquiry, the Nirex Inquiry Decision was that
the site should be sought elsewhere - well away from the Irish Sea. In
2011 the vast majority of people at Gosforth Show who visited the
Radiation Free Lakeland stall were keen to sign the petition and
understood that Cumbria’s leaky geology is not safe, dry or remote enough
from human habitation to keep high level radioactive wastes isolated into
eternity.

A covering letter has been sent to Cumbria County Councillors and
Allerdale and Copeland Borough Councillors. The full text of the letter
is below:

1st September 2011

To Cumbria County Council, Copeland and Allerdale Borough Councils.

Dear Cumbria County Councillor,

Cumbria County Council and Allerdale and Copeland Borough Council are
absolutely right to object to the distribution of low level nuclear wastes
in Cumbrian landfill sites such as Lillyhall and coal mines such as Keekle
(1). Radiation Free Lakeland fully support these objections (2). Given
the sensible objection to the dispersal of low level nuclear wastes, it
makes no sense for Cumbrian councils to “express an interest” in the
geological disposal of high level nuclear wastes (3).

We will be delivering a petition of 1500 signatures (tbc) to CCC on Monday
5th September. The petition calls on Cumbria County Council and Copeland
and Allerdale Borough Councils to halt the Managing Radioactive Wastes
Safely process by their withdrawal (4). The MRWS process has one agenda -
“steps towards geological disposal” which means a newly mined area (or
two or three) filled with high level radioactive wastes – in a hole(s)
bigger than Lake Windermere and as deep as the Eiffel Tower (6).

In November 2008 Cumbria County Councillors were not allowed to vote on
what they described as ‘the most important decision this council will ever
take.” (7) Copeland and Allerdale were told: “This is the option being
taken in the US at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, where highly radioactive fuel
will go underground. The Yucca Mountain project involves URS Washington, a
key partner in Sellafield's parent body organisation”. (8) Sounds
plausible but geological disposal of high level nuclear waste in Yucca
Mountain is off the agenda because of contamination risks to that regions
water, soil and air. URS Washington have now set up shop in Cumbria, a
much wetter area than Nevada (9). Despite the Managing Radioactive Waste
Safely Partnership’s reassuring rhetoric, there is in fact nowhere in the
world with an operational high level waste geological disposal facility
(10). There are those with concerns about Cumbria’s geology who advocate
geological disposal elsewhere (11). We agree that Cumbria is the wrong
place but would go further and suggest that there is no place in the world
safe, dry and remote enough to put high level nuclear wastes into the
ground and expect them to stay isolated from humans and the environment.

Certainly as far as Cumbria’s geology is concerned It is a massive waste
of time, energy and taxpayers money for councils in Cumbria to “express an
interest” in “volunteering” to host a high level nuclear waste
repository. The Nirex Inquiry Decision was that the site should be
sought elsewhere - well away from the Irish Sea. Eminent geologists have
recently confirmed that this meant outside West Cumbria: and the Irish
Government and others would inevitably lodge legal actions under EU Law to
prevent inevitable radioactive pollution of the Irish Sea from a deep
underground dump (12).

“Steps towards geological disposal” in Cumbria are being used as a front.
The government is desperate to be seen to comply with the findings of
the Flowers report that:

There should be no commitment to a large programme of nuclear fission
power until it has been demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt that a method
exists to ensure the safe containment of long lived, highly radioactive
waste for the indefinite future. (13)

BNFL (now the NDA) produced a video in 1999 which made a far stronger case
against 'geological disposal' in Cumbria than any petitioner such as
Radiation Free Lakeland could hope to. The video advises that areas of
"high rainfall, permeable rocks and hills and mountains to drive the water
flow" would guarantee high level radioactive wastes migrating to the
surface (14). In other words geological disposal of high level nuclear
wastes in an area such as Cumbria would make that land too fiercely
radioactive to sustain life.

We urge Cumbria County Council, and Allerdale and Copeland Borough
Councils to withdraw from the ‘Managing Radioactive Wastes Safely’ process
as soon as possible.

Yours sincerely,

Marianne Birkby
Volunteer* (dictionary definition)
on behalf of Radiation Free Lakeland
8 Chelsea Court
Milnthorpe
Cumbria
LA7 7DJ

NOTE:
*The word ‘Volunteer’ as used in the MRWS process has mutated to: council
volunteering their region to site a high level nuclear waste repository in
return for taxpayer millions.
The dictionary definition of Volunteer is:
• of the volunteer's own free will and without coercion
• for no financial payment
• A person who performs or offers to perform a service voluntarily
• A person who renders aid, performs a service, or assumes an obligation
voluntarily
• without payment in fact or in kind
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/volunteer

REFS:
(1) Copeland Rejects Keekle Head Nuclear Waste Plan
http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk/news/copeland-rejects-keekle-head-nuclea...

(2) Radioactive Landfill at Keekle Head and Lillyhall? No Thanks!
Facebook group – 115 members
http://www.facebook.com/groups/119805971373120/

Bid to Oppose Lillyhall Landfiill Legalities
http://www.getnoticedonline.co.uk/news/general-news/bid-to-oppose-lillyh...

(3) “expressing an interest”
http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk/news/underground-dump-not-a-done-deal-1....

(4) Petition – NO Underground Nuke Dump
http://northern-indymedia.org/articles/1368

(5) “We must progress implementation of geological disposal”
Charles Hendry MP
http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/news/pn10_114/pn10_114.aspx

(6) Repository Footprint – slide 8
Would a deep nuclear waste repository in West Cumbria be safe? Dr Helen
Wallace
http://www.genewatch.org/uploads/f03c6d66a9b354535738483c1c3d49e4/HW_all...

(7) Council Slammed in Nuke Dump Row
http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk/news/council-slammed-in-nuke-plan-row-1....

(8) Allerdale might host N-waste Dump
http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk/news/business/1.282959

(9) Nevada Objects 229 Times
Las Vegas Journal http://www.lvrj.com/news/36489114.html

(10) Rock Solid – scientific review by Dr Helen Wallace
http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/en/Publications/2010/rock-solid-a-scie...

(11) 13 Years on Nirex report makes compelling reading
http://www.getnoticedonline.co.uk/news/general-news/thirteen-years-on-ni...
Prof David Smythe
http://davidsmythe.org/nuclear/nuclear.htm

(12) Irish Action on Sellafield
http://www.friendsoftheirishenvironment.net/paperstoday/index.php?action...

(13) As part of its response to the Flowers report, the Government made
the Department of the Environment responsible for radioactive waste
management policy (Command Paper 6820)
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:UZhCS7oaV2wJ:www.pu...

(14) The Pangea Project
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjBSAlu0hjM

Pangea Project Sponsored by BNFL Rules Out Cumbria ie area of “high
rainfall, permeable rocks and hills and mountains to drive the water
flow.”
http://northern-indymedia.org/articles/2115