Archived press release

Nirex Hides Nuclear Dump Data From Public

31 October 1996

Today's edition of Nature magazine [2] reveals that many distinguished scientists and official bodies are concerned about Nirex's secrecy over its scientific research. The company has carried out the research as part of its plans to bury radioactive waste deep underground at Sellafield in Cumbria. Key information was not ready for the recent Public Inquiry and is now being kept secret from the public and the scientific community.

Dr Rachel Western of Friends of the Earth said:

"Nirex's contempt for the scientific community is astonishing. Why should people trust Nirex when it consistently refuses to make its information available for public and independent scientific scrutiny: what has it got to hide?"

Friends of the Earth has condemned Nirex's refusal to release crucial data concerning the flow of contaminated water in the dump area should the proposal go ahead. Information originally submitted to the Public Inquiry by Nirex on this issue contained a number of serious errors and was extensively criticised. As a result of this criticism Nirex promised to"revise" the data and submit it to independent scientific scrutiny. Instead the company has hired a panel of four scientists [3] to 'review' the data behind closed doors.

Dr Western continued:

"We need to be clear here. If Nirex gets it wrong the people of Cumbria may not be able to drink water from their kitchen taps because it could give them cancer [4]."

In a separate development, Friends of the Earth has today published on the Internet all of the scientific evidence it presented to the Nirex Public Inquiry. The evidence - written by a distinguished panel of experts, including a Nirex contractor and a member of the

Government's nuclear advisory committee - is published in a unique interactive format allowing users to feedback directly to Friends of the Earth. The address is http://www.foe.co.uk

NOTES TO EDITORS:

[1] The Public Inquiry into Nirex's proposed 'Rock Characterisation Facility': which would form the first stages of construction at the proposed nuclear waste repository site at Sellafield in Cumbria, started in September 1995 and finished in February 1996. The Inspectors report is due to be given to the Secretary of State for the Environment at the end of October 1996. The highly controversial proposal was rejected by the County Council and subjected to severe scientific criticism.

[2] The article "Nuclear Waste Plans Enter Critical Phase" is published in today's edition of Nature [Thursday 31 October 1996] Copies are available by fax from Friends of the Earth. The article quotes a number of official bodies and scientists involved in nuclear research who are seriously concerned about Nirex's persistent refusal to make vital information available for public scrutiny. These include The Royal Society, the UK government's Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee (RWMAC) and scientists involved in the Nirex research programme such as Professor David Smythe of the University of Glasgow and Professor Miro Ivanovich of the University of Reading.

[3] Nirex's panel of scientists to study the ground water data it has collected, is made up of: John Lloyd, Professor of hydrogeology at Birmingham University (Chair), Prof. Peter Fritz (Germany), Dr Gunnar Gustafson (Sweden) and Dr Andreas Gautschi (Switzerland).The Nirex data, which the panel will review, will not be made publicly available until early 1997 - many months after the Inspectors report has been delivered to the Secretary of State for the Environment.

[4] In July 1995 the Government Review of Radioactive Waste Policy was published. This highlighted the need to control the risk of contracting fatal cancer from the disposal of nuclear waste. Today's edition of Nature states that the greatest potential threat from disposal is from radioactivity reaching the surface in ground water.

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