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Call for Cardiff Council to support testing of ‘nuclear mud’ dumped outside the capital

24 Jan 2018 2 minute read
Hinkley Point A nuclear power plant

Plaid Cymru will table a motion tomorrow demanding that mud from Hinkley Point Nuclear Power Station due to be dumped outside Cardiff is tested first.

Natural Resources Wales and the Welsh Government have already granted a license for 300,000 tons of mud to be dumped in Cardiff’s inshore waters in June.

But the Plaid Cymru Group on Cardiff Council has tabled a motion demanding “independent and rigorous testing” be done first.

The group’s leader, Neil McEvoy AM, said that he was shocked to hear at the Assembly Petitions Committee earlier this month that there has been no analysis of the radioactive dose that the mud contained beyond 5cm.

“It was also astonishing to hear that no details could be given as to where the mud may end up,” he said.

“Scientific studies show that radioactive particles can travel 10 miles inland from the sea. The whole of the nearby Welsh coastline could be affected.

“It beggars belief that the Labour Government in the Bay has given the go ahead for the dumping, despite this huge safety oversight.

“I am asking every Councillor in Cardiff, as a capital city, to act in the Welsh National interest and support our motion.”

‘Reassurance’

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) sais this month that the approach taken to the marine licence application would “probably be very different” were it received today.

They were giving evidence to an Assembly committee considering a petition of more than 7,000 signatures calling on the Welsh Government to intervene.

John Wheadon, permitting services manager for NRW told the committee he would hope “we would do something differently if that application was received today to provide that additional reassurance to communities”.

“There are plenty of examples where we do have permit applications where we engage with local communities and beyond if we realise the level of public interest that is there.”

But marine radioactivity specialist Tim Deere-Jones of the ‘Stop the Dump’ campaign dismissed accusations of “alarmism” by the nuclear industry.

“It’s nothing more than an attempt to hide the fact that the industry has no answers to the concerns raised by both the Campaign and AMs on the Senedd Petitions Committee.”


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28 Comments
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jasrob
jasrob
6 years ago

If it’s safe, they can dump it in the Thames, next to the commons.

jasrob
jasrob
6 years ago

Thinking on, it really is time Wales dumped muddyLabour too!

Rob Bruce
6 years ago

What are “marine radioactivity specialist” Tim Deere-Jones’s actual qualifications? Google gives me nothing more specific than “marine pollution consultant, environmental journalist”. I hope we’re not all being led up the garden path by an alliance between a scaremongering hippy and a bull-in-china-shop populist politician.

Coch-y-bonddu
Coch-y-bonddu
6 years ago
Reply to  Rob Bruce

All that’s being asked for is meaningful testing. Not too much to ask for. Even the experts in NRW said they’d do things differently with hindsight. I presume that means demanding sufficient testing to put citizens minds at ease.

Rob Bruce
6 years ago
Reply to  Coch-y-bonddu

I don’t have a problem with meaningful testing and it should be done. The issue here is that the pseudo-scientists and the politicians that thrive on controversy and confrontation have now got hold of this. These people will find anything in any results to frighten the public. If the tests come back with the news that there is a harmless trace of radiation slightly above background level in the mud, do you think these people will accept it and move on?

apgras
apgras
6 years ago
Reply to  Rob Bruce

We do not want another Brofiscin Quarry. Diolch

Dafydd Thomas
Dafydd Thomas
6 years ago

What’s new..radioactive waste from england, social cleansing from england…we have to stop being a skip for what england wants to rid itself of.

malinosa
6 years ago
Reply to  Dafydd Thomas

this ehnic cleansing analogy is outrageous

Dafydd Thomas
Dafydd Thomas
6 years ago
Reply to  malinosa

Agree. Yes the social cleansing in england is outrageous.

Oliver Tickell
Oliver Tickell
6 years ago

Those who want to find out more about why this is such a dangerous and detrimental proposal can read the report to be found here: http://www.greenaudit.org/dumping-radioactive-mud-near-cardiff-new-report/

Rob Bruce
6 years ago
Reply to  Oliver Tickell

That’s by this bloke https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Christopher_Busby isn’t it?
Look. I’m opposed to nuclear power. It’s horribly expensive to produce and horribly expensive to clean up after. Mining for uranium is destroying several countries irreparably. If its by-products weren’t used to make weapons then no sensible country would bother with it. But having said that, we can’t leave rational thought and evidence based discussion at the door just because it suits us in the short term.
We’re supposed to be the good guys, remember?

Oliver Tickell
Oliver Tickell
6 years ago

Dr Chris Busby is a distinguished scientist with long list of peer reviewed publications and is himself a sought-after reviewer for scientific journals in radiation biology. Of course the powerful, well funded nuclear lobby resorts to personal attacks in attempt to discredit him precisely because he represents a serious threat to them, by exposing the real risks of radiation. For example his evidence was instrumental in the defeat of Sweden’s plan for Forsmark deep radioactive waste disposal, announced by Swedish court today. And Rob Bruce what are your academic credentials?

Rob
Rob
6 years ago
Reply to  Oliver Tickell

I don’t have any academic credentials save for a degree in politics from a seriously non-prestigious polytechnic. However, unlike Busby, I have never pimped out overpriced quack remedies to desperate and confused victims of a nuclear accident.

Oliver Tickell
Oliver Tickell
6 years ago
Reply to  Rob

Nor has Busby done as you suggest. As I recall the pills in question contain non-radioactive iodine to prevent uptake of radioactive iodine, calcium to prevent uptake of radioactive strontium, potassium to prevent uptake of radioactive caesium. All based on perfectly sound science. If there’s ever anything like that in UK I would take them or something similar. And he never made a penny from them. The story is basically a pack of lies and distortions. Busby even had a PCC adjudication in his favour against the Guardian, however the Guardian did not comply by refusing to run his ‘right… Read more »

Rob Bruce
6 years ago
Reply to  Oliver Tickell

“none of these [products] are useful at all. Dr Busby should be ashamed of himself.” – Gerry Thomas, professor of molecular pathology at the department of surgery and cancer at Imperial College, London.
I’m sure there are enough conspiracy theorists out there on the internets to have a whip-round for Busby if he thinks he has a case.
BTW, I searched here http://www.pcc.org.uk/advanced_search.html and couldn’t find any record of him. Got a reference.

Oliver Tickell
Oliver Tickell
6 years ago
Reply to  Rob Bruce

Rather than take Gerry Thomas’s word for it (BTW she is so ignorant that she argued against Busby in court as expert witness for MOD that there was such a thing as ‘non-radioactive uranium’ forcing barristers to subsequently retract her testimony) why don’t you look into it yourself? Iodine is already standard treatment for exposure to nuclear fallout. If you are ever exposed you want 90Sr in your bones? 137Cs in your heart? Then go ahead and ignore what I’m saying.

Oliver Tickell
Oliver Tickell
6 years ago
Reply to  Rob Bruce

Try wikipedia?

Rob Bruce
6 years ago
Reply to  Oliver Tickell

Try Wikipedia for a reference to a PCC adjudication that is not on the PCC searchable database? Erm, OK.
[searches]
Nothing. In fact the only references to Busby having an adjudication in his favour come from his own web sites. Did he just make it up and hope no one would notice? Or assume that it was going to happen in a draft and forget to take it out when it didn’t? It’s not even there in the hagiography at wikispooks. Odd.

Dafydd Thomas
Dafydd Thomas
6 years ago

With the nuclear industry if anything goes wrong it’s catastrophic. Having worked on the design of nuclear power stations with a higher engineering degree I can assure you that they have triple redundancy safety systems but nothing is totally safe just extremely low statistical possibility of something going wrong. So check and Triple check. But I wouldn’t live near one myself. Just like the Bernoulli equation and technology keeping airplanes aloft if anything goes wrong you can’t just park the plane, it’s catastrophic, but very low probability. If there’s any chance of mud being radioactive (and there is a low… Read more »

Michael Costas-Michael
Michael Costas-Michael
6 years ago

I would urge you to read the motion put to the council meeting by McEvoy.it was gibberish.this is not about radioactive waste but all about any publicity he can get out of it.
His speech was pathetic (available on the webcast soon)short on facts and plenty of ifs.
The motion stated that there were no tests below 5cm and the next line says there were 5 test below 5cm.(Actualy there was a test to 5m in 2009)
And that found nothing.

McEvoy is an embarrassment to all nationalists.

Oliver Tickell
Oliver Tickell
6 years ago

You may be right (I have not read the motion nor did I witness the speech) but the point he makes is nonetheless correct. Hinkley Point has experienced at least one significant release of radiation and much of what has been released is still there in that mud where it has produced local cancer excess in coastal population as a result of resuspension into atmosphere. Also it’s not enough to wave a Geiger counter around and say ‘look no problem, the gamma is close to background’. The greatest danger arises from alpha emitting microparticles that are much harder to detect,… Read more »

Neil McEvoy
Neil McEvoy
6 years ago

Cllr Michael was unable to.understand the difference between some testing below 5cm and testing which establishes a radioactive dose. The latter was not done and only 5 samples below 5cm were taken back in 2009. I feel it is more than reasonable to want more testing. Also, why on earth should we be dumped on at all?

Michael Costas-Michael
Michael Costas-Michael
6 years ago

McEvoy.You want any cheap publicity you can get from this only.
Plaid in Cardiff have only three policy’s.
1.Jump on any Bandwagon.
2.Bullshit.
3.Scaremongering.

That is the full political spectrum for this opportunist.
Trying to pretend you know what you are even discussing at council was funny.i could see the faces of the councillors as you spoke.
Donald Trump is more believable.
Not credible.
Not taken seriously by one one .
As Real Plaid have found out.the truth and McEvoy are strangers.
Keep digging.

Drudwy
6 years ago

I look to Nation.Cymru for a multi-partisan, informed and reasoned debate – not the sort of peurile name-calling you indulge in here and (as I watched it live) also in Cardiff Council Chamber. Your insults here even lack imagination, being a repeat of your self-regarding performance last week (throwing frequent glances back to your Labour colleagues, especially it seemed to Cllr Goodway, convulsed in smirking). As for your points here – they are just insults – they disrespect democracy, your constituents and Nation.Cymru readers. I look in vain for any respect for the principles of care embodied in the Well-being… Read more »

Oliver Tickell
Oliver Tickell
6 years ago
Reply to  Drudwy

Well said. Wonderful to see a literate, carefully-worded, well-informed comment on a thread that has descended into insult and ignorance.

Michael Costas-Michael
Michael Costas-Michael
6 years ago

Oh dear the McEvoy supporters club are off making all kinds of spurious and untrue allegations about the council getting something. I am afraid the motion was all about scaremongering and cheap publicity. No one in Cardiff takes anything that Cardiff Plaid or whatever name they call themselves this week seriously. No evidence was produced to support the motion and remember McEvoy has done scaremongering before.its the one thing he can do.misinform. And to answer your question on my calling McEvoy a liar,your right In fact ,what I said was “his own party say he lies in public” Separate fact… Read more »

trhys
6 years ago

Mr Costas-Michael’s contribution to this extremely important issue seems to have less to do with the dangers of radioactive mud taken from a nuclear power station on the Somerset coat and dumped on our coast (if it’s so safe, why don’t they just keep it there?) than with his own petty, personal feud with Neil McEvoy, a dispute that led to this court case over defamation: https://high-court-justice.vlex.co.uk/vid/claim-500589530). I suspect that no one else on this thread has the slightest interest in the rights or wrongs of this personal feud, which is being used here as a classic ‘straw man’ attempt… Read more »

Oliver Tickell
Oliver Tickell
6 years ago
Reply to  trhys

Well said @trhys. What matters here is the substantive issue. What possible benefit can there be in dumping radioactive mud in the Cardiff marine area? None. What harm could be inflicted on Cardiff people by inhalation of ‘hot particles’ of radioactive material located in the mud, and transferred to atmosphere by action of wave and wind? Cancer.

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