Home  Media Press Releases Trident Campaigners to demonstrate against radioactive submarine dump in Plymouth
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Campaigners to demonstrate against radioactive submarine dump in Plymouth |
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Friday, 30 October 2009 |
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
will this Saturday stage a demonstration in Plymouth opposing plans which could see dozens
of obsolete nuclear submarines cut-up and stored within the city. The
demonstration, called by CND
nationally and supported by Plymouth TUC and local campaigners will highlight
the risks of sawing-up Britain's toxic Cold War legacy of 27
nuclear submarines within a city of 250,000 people, only 400 metres from the nearest primary
school.
The Devonport naval
base, in inner-city Plymouth is seen as the
frontrunner to undertake much of the Ministry of Defence's 'Submarine
Dismantling Project'. The project is likely to involve slicing the 750 tonne
reactor compartment - more than twice the height of a double-decker bus - from
each of Britain's existing 27 nuclear-powered
subs and storing it for several decades until a long-term disposal site can be
constructed. Serious safety concerns have been raised over the risks of
contamination from the work were it to be carried out on a city-centre site
which has already seen four radioactive leaks in the last 18
months.
Professor Dave Webb, Vice Chair of the Campaign for Nuclear
Disarmament, who will address
Saturday's rally, said
"We'll be demonstrating alongside many in the local community to make
it absolutely clear that a city-centre location is no place to cut-up
and store nuclear submarines. The health risks posed by a project that
could continue for 60 years or more are potentially enormous. This will
be risky work never undertaken before in the UK, dismantling submarines
which were built up to 50 years ago. There can be no guarantee that
accidents will not occur. Decommissioning is always a big problem with
any nuclear facility. The submarines certainly need to be dismantled -
however this should not be in the middle of a city. Instead of
blighting Plymouth with the reputation of being Britain's only
city-centre nuclear dump, the government should invest in a green
regeneration strategy for the city, providing long-term sustainable
jobs."
He continued, "There are already 27 submarines included in this
project, eight of them already
rusting away whilst afloat at Devonport. The Government should not be adding to
a problem it has no safe way to solve with further subs. Replacing
Trident, at a cost of £76bn will do
nothing to ensure Britain's security - in fact it will
put us all at greater risk by encouraging other countries to possess nuclear
weapons. With the UK facing the deepest recession since
the war, scrapping Trident would free
up huge resources to protect more socially-useful investment. Spending only a
tiny fraction of this on assisting rather than dashing Plymouth's regeneration
efforts could be transformative."
Campaigners will be using the slogan
'Stop the nuclear dump - for a healthy green city' to highlight the choice
facing Plymouth.
A contingent of workers from the Vestas wind-turbine factory on the Isle of Wight will join the front of the demonstration to
highlight the potential for skilled dockyard engineers to form the nucleus of a
green energy industry in the city.
The economic impact of Plymouth being seen as Britain's only city-centre nuclear
dump could be profound, driving away
tourists and business investment. In a statement to the local press last weekend
Plymouth City Council leader Vivien Pengelly strongly criticised the MoD
plan, saying "it would be totally
counter to Plymouth's Growth Strategy and would adversely
impact upon on the economic regeneration of the City." [see note
3]
Date: Saturday 31st
October
Assemble: 12 noon,
Plymouth City Centre,
Guildhall, Armada Way.
Intermediate stop:
2pm, Devonport Park.
Rally: 3pm, Devonport nuclear dockyard main
entrance, Camel's
Gate
The demonstration is called by the
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and supported by Plymouth Trade Union
Council, Plymouth
Unison, Plymouth Stop the War
Coalition and the Plymouth Nuclear-Free Coalition.
For a comprehensive briefing on
Devonport's nuclear role and the issue of redundant nuclear submarines see CND's
latest report "Devonport: No to Trident, No to a nuclear dump" [see note
4]
- For further information and interviews please contact Ben Soffa, CND's Press Officer, on 0207 7002350 or 07968 420859
- The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is one of Europe's
biggest single-issue peace campaigns, with over 35,000 members in the
UK. CND campaigns for the abolition of all nuclear weapons everywhere. www.cnduk.org
- Quote from Plymouth City Council leader Vivien Pengelly, Western Morning
News, October
24, 2009, http://www.thisiswesternmorningnews.co.uk/news/Dismantling-nuclear-subs-low-risk/article-1449156-detail/article.html
- CND Briefing, "Devonport: No to
Trident, No to a nuclear dump http://www.cnduk.org/images/stories/briefings/trident/devonport09.pdf
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The MoD project is intended to deal with almost 4,500 tonnes of radioactive waste, as according to a Parliamentary
answer, each submarine contains
approximately 83 tonnes of intermediate-level waste and 81 tonnes of low-level
waste when it is retired, http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2006-06-14b.76288.h
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