Campaigners expressed anger at revelations that official government policy on foreign nuclear waste is being over turned in favour of a dangerous policy of disposing of the waste on UK soil. The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament condemned the decision, which will turn Britain into the world’s “nuclear dumping ground for the sake of a quick buck and at the expense of future generations”.

Nuclear waste is one of the greatest legacies of the first generation of nuclear power stations. There is no current technology for safely dealing with highly radioactive waste from power plants. It is likely that waste will be dumped down deep holes, but it is impossible to contain the waste indefinitely in this way. Nuclear waste remains dangerous for thousands of years and some waste will remain lethal for millions of years.

Kate Hudson, Chair of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament said:

“It is appalling for the government to act as if this is in Britain’s interest. The nightmare that is the clear up operation for the UK’s own nuclear power programme is bad enough. It would now seem that our government is willing to turn the UK into the dumping ground for the rest of the world for the sake of a quick buck and at the expense of future generations.

At a time when there is no safe form of disposal for the waste from our own nuclear legacy we are only adding to the problem. This is a disastrous policy, storing up a lethal harvest that will blight our country for generations to come.”

ENDS

Notes to editor:

1. For further information please contact Ruth Tanner CND’s Press & Communications Officer on 0207 7002350 or 07968 420859.
2. For further information on CND’s Plutonium Trade Campaign http://www.cnduk.org/pages/campaign/pluto.html
3. Background of story http://www.guardian.co.uk/nuclear/article/0,2763,1373964,00.html