ANNIVERSARIES: WINDSCALE, CHERNOBYL, FUKUSHIMA - NEVER AGAIN?

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Anniversaries

Today is the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl catastrophe. We went to Carlisle Cathedral to lay three crosses:

Windscale- Never Again? Chernobyl - Never Again? Fukushima- Never Again?

A letter was delivered to the "nuclear is a green option" Bishop of Carlisle...

Dear Bishop Newcome,

CHERNOBYL - 25 YEARS ON.

Congratulations on your appointment as Lead Bishop on health care issues.

Today is the 25^th anniversary of the Chernobyl catastrophe. Radiation Free Lakeland and representatives from other concerned groups will be laying three crosses outside Carlisle Cathedral. The crosses will read:

Windscale- Never Again? Chernobyl- Never Again? Fukushima- Never Again?

The Diocese is informed by the Churches Together Environment Group which is largely advised by Supporters of Nuclear Energy SONE. “Environment Group” publications reflect this pronuclear bias. We feel that the Diocese could do much more to seriously take on board legitimate concerns about nuclear power. For two hours on the morning of your enthronement in 2009 we spoke to 150 people who had come along specially to sign a letter voicing concerns at the Diocese’s pro nuclear stance. The letter asked:

“Will the Diocese of Carlisle consider listening to independent expert advice

(not from pro nuclear government or industry) on radiation risks of new build and geological disposal before making further pro-nuclear statements?”

Well, the Diocese did kindly agree to hosting a meeting on 6^th Feb 2010 We were however surprised that you chose at the meeting to reaffirm a commitment to new nuclear build. The hope was that people would have time to go away and reflect on all the points raised during the presentations. Even local Parish Newsletters present the Diocese’s pronuclear view as “the green route to secure, safe and reliable power” - no dissenting voices get a look in.

In July children from Belarus will be spending a month in the South Lakes to give their damaged immune systems a respite.

The damage will continue through the "children of irradiated parents for as many as seven generations." So "the genetic consequences of the Chernobyl catastrophe will impact hundreds of millions of people."

Alexey V. Yablokov (Center for Russian Environmental Policy, Moscow, Russia), Vassily B. Nesterenko, and Alexey V. Nesterenko (Institute of Radiation Safety, Minsk, Belarus). Consulting Editor Janette D. Sherman-Nevinger (Environmental Institute, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan).


““In Belarus cancer of the thyroid is so prevalent that the scar left after a thyroid operation is now chillingly referred to as a Belarussian Necklace, thus marking them forever as Chernobyl's victims. Since the disaster there has also been an increase of 800% in the incidence of cancers in children living near to the reactor plus there has been a dramatic increase in the rate of babies born with substantial physical disabilities. Babies born limbless, deformed and with severe brain damage.

There are so many other radiation related health crises occurring in the region that for the first time in Belarussian history , the death rate is HIGHER, than the birth rate”. The South Lakeland branch of Friends of Chernobyl’s Children

Given the ongoing Chernobyl catastrophe and since your enthronement, now Fukushima, will the Diocese of Carlisle withdraw its support for new build and geological disposal?

….. and join us in saying NEVER AGAIN!

Yours sincerely,

Marianne Birkby

On behalf of Radiation Free Lakeland

015395 63671

Note:

Sent by email attachment is the document :

Why a deep nuclear waste repository should not be sited in Cumbria: a geological review

by David Smythe Emeritus Professor of Geophysics, University of Glasgow 11 April 2011

Refs:

http://www.churchofengland.org/media-centre/news/2010/10/bishop-of-carlisle-appointed-as-lead-bishop-on-healthcare-issues.aspx

http://www.sone.org.uk/content/view/394/30/

http://www.churchestogethercumbria.co.uk/UK%20Energy%20Policy%20and%20the%20Environment%20paper.pdf

http://www.churchestogethercumbria.co.uk/nuclear_energy_discussion.htm

Friends of Chernobyl’s Children

http://focc.org.uk/South_Lakes.html

Chernobyl: Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and the Environment

Written by Alexey V. Yablokov (Center for Russian Environmental Policy, Moscow, Russia), Vassily B. Nesterenko, and Alexey V. Nesterenko (Institute of Radiation Safety, Minsk, Belarus). Consulting Editor Janette D. Sherman-Nevinger (Environmental Institute, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan).
Volume 1181, December 2009

http://www.nyas.org/publications/annals/Detail.aspx?cid=f3f3bd16-51ba-4d7b-a086-753f44b3bfc1

UNINSURED JOYRIDING

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Uninsured Joyriding - A Public Liability

The nuke industry is lobbying for a cap on its public liability. "Consultation" ends on 28th April. Wrote today to tell the Department of Energy and Climate Change that this is insane.

Dear DECC, Please ensure that Radiation Free Lakeland's views are taken into account regarding Implementation of changes to the Paris and Brussels Conventions on nuclear third party liability. Radiation Free Lakeland are in full agreement with the Nuclear Free Local Authorities that continuing with the 'nuclear liabilities' consultation is meaningless in the light of the Fukushima catastrophe. The nuclear industry should not have the luxury of getting away with the limited liability proposed as a matter of course by our pronuclear coalition government. Nuclear operators are allowed to cap their liability at one billion. This would only compensate for the loss of 6 months tourist trade in Cumbria. Or is equivalent to the combined insurance of traders in Cumbria's one day County Show. Each trader needs to be insured for at least £5M and there are hundreds of traders. In contrast in the event of a major nuclear "accident" the nuclear industry is like a reckless uninsured (uninsurable) joyrider, literally a public liability.The nuclear industry is a liability we cannot afford.

All money and effort should be put into looking after the existing wastes as safely as possible

and limiting the damage already done to health and the environment.

yours sincerely,

..

more info:

Cumbrian Economy worth over £2bn http://www.cumbriatourism.org/business-support/awards-why-enter.aspx  Cumbria County Show http://www.westmorlandshow.co.uk/ 
Consultation can be found here:
http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/consultations/paris_brussels/paris_brussels.aspx

Notes:  

(1)The Nuclear Free Local Authorities consultation submission

can be downloaded from: 

http://www.nuclearpolicy.org/docs/consultations/NFLA_P_B_Liability_Response.pdf .  

(2)     Guardian, quoting from the Yomuiri Shimbun newspaper:

 http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/13/japan-nuclear-plant-evacuees-compensation   

(3)       Bloomberg 14th April 2011: 

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-14/nuclear-regulators-delay-study-of-fukushima-lessons-until-2012.html   

(4)     Independent 16th April 2011: 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/nuclear-plant-evacuees-call-for-bigger-payouts-2268640.html   

(5)     DECC consultation on the management of the UK’s plutonium stocks: 

http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/Consultations/plutonium-stocks/1243-uk-plutonium-

NORWEGIAN WHISTLEBLOWERS - THANK YOU!

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Whistleblowers - Neptune Network from Norway

Police today removed Neptune Network's campaigners from the railway line at Sellafield. Why Oh Why are'nt thousands of Cumbrians sat on the railway preventing nuclear wastes from being delivered to Sellafield? Perhaps it is because the intelligentsia have been neutered by The Guardian's George Monbiot. Perhaps it is because Cumbrians think 'why bother - our souls are owned by the company store' - but George isn't Go(o)d and the company store turns out to be paid for by the tax payer. The wastes that Neptune Network are blowing the whistle on, travel to Sellafield from around the world and through "reprocessing" even higher level wastes are added to the growing toxic brew. Norwegian campaigner, Frank Hugo Storelv said "The plant cannot handle the waste they already have in a responsible way and they say themselves that Sellafield cannot accommodate more without creating an untenable security situation. Sellafield stores most of the world's nuclear waste and Norway is under threat from this."

Meanwhile Chair of Cumbria tourism Eric Robson has said that he supports "geological disposal" under Cumbria of this toxic brew because:

"I'm convinced by the scientific arguments that geological disposal rather than burying our heads in the sand is the best way forward. Nuclear waste is with us. We can't wish it away despite the best efforts of some so-called environmentalists. My views are well known and I am elected as chairman of Cumbria Tourism, rather than being self appointed."

Fair enough to have a personal view - but as well as being Chair of Cumbria Tourism this popular chap is also the owner of the PR company recieving taxpayer's money to promote "steps towards geological disposal" 

As the Norwegians have shown the waste just keeps on coming! 

Where is that wild Border Reivers spirit?  They were villains precisely because the "Borderers of both England and Scotland by the 16th century realised that their respective government could no longer provide justice nor protection"  The Border Reivers may have been outlaws but they never stole our future - or left us with our beautiful land unfit for anything but a nuclear graveyard.

 http://www.borderreivers.net/wordpress/2008/02/19/an-introduction-to-the-border-reivers/

http://www.neptunenetwork.org/profiles/blogs/atompolitiet-fjernet

RADIOACTIVE LAKES - ERIC ROBSON

Use no. 10

Radioactive Lakes with Eric Robson - a conversation

Last night I phoned Eric Robson - star of Gardener's Question Time and Chair of Cumbria Tourism. In 2009 Mr Robson was key speaker at a conference called "Lakes for Living- Lakes for Life" where his famously pro nuclear and anti wind energy views were voiced. Recently though I had been impressed with Mr Robson's even handed(ish) chairing of a debate which followed the film screening of a nuclear waste documentary - "Into Eternity." Emboldened by this evenhandedness I thought "why not give old Eric a ring and ask if he will consider supporting the petition to prevent an underground nuke dump here in the Cumbria he loves."

Fat Chance!!

Good old Eric is faithful to the nuclear cause and spent some time trying to make me see the error of my ways with the following trite soundbites and some new spins that I hadn't heard but made my heart sink:

"coal has killed more people than nuclear" "entirely reasonable for the government to look at geological disposal in Cumbria" "the waste will be safely deep underground" "During the film I listened slack jawed at the descriptions of warning markers - who is bothered about people thousands of years from now? " "Wastwater can cope with the water abstraction to cool new wastes" "we need new nuclear build in Cumbria" and so on..

I did manage to make the point that if after over 20 years of deciphering the Rosetta Stone it had said "Do not dig here , do not drink the water, get away from this area it will kill you and your children" then we might have been a tad peeved.

Today I googled Eric Robson and no wonder he not willing to consider the arguments against a deep nuke dump. He is director/founder of PR company Osprey Communications who are being showered with taxpayers money to push the "steps towards geological disposal" agenda of this government. How does that square with being Chair of Cumbria Tourism!!! Better watch out for good old Uncle Eric saying anti nuclear campaigners are the real threat to Cumbria's tourism while nuclear is green and good, sugar and spice and all things nice.

INTO ETERNITY

"Why isn't every government, every philosopher, every theologian, everywhere in the world discussing Onkalo and its implications? I don't know, but they should see this film."


http://www.intoeternitythemovie.com/synopsis/

OSPREY COMMUNICATIONS

Specialists in Crisis PR...

"Their ability to get across a brief very quickly is second to none. They have an excellent grasp of how best to get over a positive message and also how a client should respond to criticisms."

http://www.ospreycommunications.co.uk/more_info.asp?current_id=97

Just a few of the many Radioactive Lakes

Trawsfynydd Lake - Wales

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-390454/Breast-cancer-rates-higher-near-nuclear-plant.html

Lake Karachai - Ural Mountains

http://www.albionmonitor.com/9807a/karachai.html

The Great Lakes, Canada

http://iicph.org/low-dose-radiation-in-great-lakes-water-systems-a-serious-health-hazard

Columbia River - Oregon

http://earthshare-oregon.org/our-groups/profiles/crk/hanfordupdate/view

NOTE: The hoary old falsities repeated by Eric Robson are answered by Paul Mobbs, 

who covers arguments of people taken in by the nuclear power lobby  in his new 

extensive report:

http://www.fraw.org.uk/mei/ecolonomics/01/ecolonomics-010-20110322.pdf

RADIOACTIVE LANDFILL

Use No 9.

Radioactive Landfill - Reduce, Recycle, Reuse - Make Room for Nuclear Waste!

The nuclear industry is desperate to offload millions of tons of radioactive waste into landfill. This is despite the law being tightened up, quite rightly, for all other wastes (such as tyres which inevitably leak toxins into watercourses).

The industry refers to the people whose health would be destroyed by this radioactive leachate as
"receptors." Real people, who would become seriously ill .......

Because the law has been changed to allow radioactive waste ( called "exempt" !) in landfill - this is happening now around the country. At Lillyhall in Cumbria, radioactive rubble, soil and detritus comes in lorry loads from the decommissioned Magnox plant at Chapelcross in Scotland and also from Sellafield.

The industry wants to clear the decks for new build and the only existing radioactive waste repository at Drigg is almost full.

Join us in saying NO to radwaste

Radioactive Landfill - No Thanks

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=119805971373120

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/oct/19/nuclear-waste-landfill-threat

11th May, Maple House Birmingham FREE A one day workshop to "encourage awareness about the planned ubiquitous,mundane, everyday dispersal of low level radiation". Dr Paul Dorfman
To Book:
www.ciria.org or fax the form on 020 7253 0523.
Register online at: www.ciria.org/service/e11401

http://www.ciria.org/

www.ciria.org

RADIOACTIVE SPRINGS

Use No 8.

Radioactive Springs in Cumbria?

Prof David Smythe who worked for Nirex - now the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has said:
"Just stand with your back to the sea, anywhere on the coastal plain, looking inland at the mountains of the national park. Imagine the rain falling on these mountains, percolating – however slowly and imperceptibly – through fissures and cracks in these slates and lavas, down towards the sea, over centuries and aeons. These same Lake District rocks are found below your feet, under the sedimentary layers of the coastal plain, constituting what we call geologically the ‘basement’. But the very large hydraulic head of underground water near the coast, thanks to the height of the mountains inland, means that some of this water can percolate back upwards to the surface on its progress to the sea. It is this natural flow pattern that rules out the coastal region from ever being a candidate site; it does not conform to internationally agreed standards for such a repository. In the long term, nature cannot be defied by engineering".

So, West Cumbria has already been proven, with £400M of the best scientific evidence, to be completely unsuitable for a deep nuclear dump.

But this is the 'wrong' answer for a government which wants to press ahead with dangerous new nuclear build and needs somewhere to dump the waste.

more info:

http://www.davidsmythe.org/nuclear/nuclear.htm