At the recent community event at the MICA Tuesday 10th October representatives of the Courier and Mersea Island Environmental Alliance (MEIA) spoke to various Magnox personnel regarding the lack of an emergency plan to evacuate the island in case of a nuclear emergency, specifically a terrorist act against the site. Magnox responded with the following statement: “As a result of the efforts Magnox has made to reduce hazards on Bradwell site we have been able to satisfy the regulator that an off-site plan is no longer required to protect the local community. We will continue to maintain an appropriate level of monitoring as required by our regulators. The local authority still maintains response plans under the Civil Contingencies Act and these plans will cover any required response to the site.” MEIA commented: “Magnox is clearly referring to the decommissioning and for that their statement is incorrect and unhelpful as the question was specific. Our question was on the regional Bradwell nuclear store which will be full of nuclear waste and our concern is that if the store was targeted by terrorists the consequences could be catastrophic. Bradwell has already been identified by the Government as a potential target being both close to the major army barracks at Colchester and by its proximity to London. That risk will increase with potential Chinese new build. Any terrorist attack on the Bradwell regional nuclear store immediately threatens the local population, in particular those living closest and others on Mersea under canvas and in holiday accommodation. Cllr Peter Banks, Green Party candidate and member of BANNG and West Mersea Town Council remarked: “What about the fact that the Graphite Core is classed as high level waste and represents a threat too. The large reactor one and two buildings represent an easy target, less chance of missing… At the last LCLC Site Closure Director Bob Nicholls announced they were building a cover to one of the pits ‘even though there was no radiation threat’… which begs the question why would they do that?”
Mersea Island Courier 14th Nov 2017 read more »
