Press Release: FoE Group issues Open Letter to Cumbrian Councillors

Jan 21st 2013 Campaigners from Friends of the Earth have issued an Open Letter to all Cumbrian Councillors. They urge withdrawal from the nuclear dump proposals on January 30th, saying that they have no mandate from Cumbria over going forward to a new Stage 4 along the lines the government now wants. It is changing the rules of the process, and no-one has been consulted over a different Stage 4, which may go beyond the 'desk studies' originally envisaged.

And any mandate they believe they might have got from the MRWS Consultation is in serious doubt because

(a) 'Opinion in Cumbria is moving strongly against such a decision as the public learns more about the proposals, calling 'volunteerism' into question;
(b) Moving on to a search for a site is likely to have a negative impact on tourism and the wider economy even before a decision is made to go ahead with the construction of a nuclear waste dump; it will irrevocably damage the prospect of developing a diverse Cumbrian economy based on principles of sustainable development which reinforce the clean and green image of the Lake District National Park;
(c) Once a decision has been made to move on to the next stage the pressure to go ahead with construction of a dump, even on an inferior site, will be virtually irresistible.'

They also refute the argument that Cumbria already has most of the waste. They say that
'the Government is hoping around 10 to 13 new nuclear reactors will get built over the next decade or so, and wants the dump to include waste from these. According to CoRWM the wastes from 10 new reactors would contain almost three times the amount of radioactivity of existing waste. So, in fact, most of the waste intended to go in the dump, in terms of radioactivity, would come from outside of Cumbria, with huge impact on the whole County in terms of transportation.'

The group wants Cumbria to be a clean, green, place to live, work and visit and that
'over the coming months it will be setting out its vision of a vibrant sustainable economy for Cumbria with a reduced dependence on the nuclear industry, making the most of the clean and green image of the Lake District, and which relies instead on modern, community-controlled, clean technologies. We urge councillors to do the same.'

/

Dr. Ruth Balogh, nuclear issues campaigner for W Cumbria & N Lakes FoE

Notes:
The MRWS process was initiated by government in June 2008 via a White Paper. Stage 4 is the point at which Decision makers formally 'volunteer' to look for a suitable site for a dump for high and intermediate level waste
The West Cumbria MRWS Partnership was established after the 3 Councils - Copeland, Allerdale and Cumbria made expressions of interest in volunteering, and deliberated for 3 ½ years before reporting in August 2012.

Contact for more information:

Dr. Ruth Balogh

West Cumbria and North Lakes Friends of the Earth nuclear issues campaigner