Nuclear Waste
Letter from Marianne Birkby: Hands up all those for world’s first nuclear high-level waste dump? Not the members of Cumbria County Council, who were denied a vote on what they described as ‘the most important decision the council will ever take’ or should that be ‘never be allowed to take?’ The Cabinet’s complete reversal of any semblance of democracy is worthy of the most agile acrobat.
Whitehaven News 23rd Dec 2008 more >>
Cumbria County Council has written to the Government to formally express an interest in hosting an underground nuclear dump. Council leader Stewart Young wrote to Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Miliband to offer Copeland as a site for a deep geological repository to store atomic waste. The offer may also extend to Allerdale, if the borough council there agrees.
Whitehaven News 24th Dec 2008 more >>
Terror
The Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) has an exclusive role protecting the county’s nuclear sites from potential terrorist threats. The constabulary has officers permanently based at the Springfields site in Salwick and at Heysham Power Station.
Lancashire Evening Post 26th Dec 2008 more >>
Aldermaston
Letter from David Lowry: Your report “Secret nuclear sell-off storm” (20 December) indicates a watershed has been passed in the final sale of part of the UK military nuclear infrastructure to the United States. In fact, the UK atomic establishment has been in bed with the US on nuclear weapons development since the US Congress authorised an amendment in 1959 to the United States-United Kingdom Mutual Defense (spelt with an “s” even in the official British version) Agreement on Atomic Energy Matters, signed a year earlier. It permitted the US to share with us nuclear weapons expertise, technology and “fissile” nuclear explosive materials such as plutonium and enriched uranium.
Independent 26th Dec 2008 more >>
Brazil
Areva signs agreement to strengthen presence in Brazilian nuclear sector. French nuclear power generation solutions provider Areva and Brazilian electricity utility Eletronuclear have signed a memorandum of understanding to extend the industrial co-operation between the companies.
Datamonitor 25th Dec 2008 more >>
Fuel Poverty
Only one in eight households in fuel poverty receives discounted gas and electricity bills, despite a multimillion-pound commitment by the main energy companies to help vulnerable people to endure the winter.
Times 27th Dec 2008 more >>
