The Welsh Government petitions committee has released a report into the proposed dumping of sediment from the Hinkley Point C, designed to guide the National Assembly when it debates the issue on May 23. This follows 7.000 people signing a petition calling for the suspension of a marine licence allowing the depositing of sediment dredged from outside the Hinkley Point nuclear reactor in the Severn Estuary near Cardiff. Protestors have branded it as ‘radioactive mud’. The report includes the claim that the mud has the same level of radioacivity as 20 bananas (consumed by one person over 12 months). An alternative measure offered in the report is that someone living in Pembrokeshire is exposed to 50 times more radiation (due to naturally occurring Radon) than the mud produces. Both measures are offered by EDF Energy. David Rowlands AM, chair of the Petitions Committee said: “It is clear that there are strong feelings regarding nuclear power and the potential effects of radioactive deposits which are generated as a by-product. “The petitioner has put forward an impassioned argument and garnered significant support for bringing the issue to light. “For their part, EDF, NRW and Cefas have been open, responsive and detailed in presenting their own evidence. “Depositing of the sediment is due to happen this summer so the timescale for considering the petition was always very tight. “Due to the timescales that the Petitions Committee has had to work to, we have not drawn conclusions or made any recommendations in our report. This will enable the issue, and the evidence we have received, to be debated fully by the National Assembly in the near future.”
The Barry GEM 11th May 2018 read more »
