Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
NUCLEAR WAR
Plans for toxic dump at NI tourist spots branded ‘plutonium-fuelled madness’
FEARS are mounting Northern Ireland tourist spots will be turned into a “dumping ground” for nuclear waste.
The Causeway Coast, Lough Neagh, the Mournes and Sperrins are among 45 UK regions in the frame to deposit radioactive material.
Friends Of The Earth’s De clan Allison, left, said: “We’ve heard some terrible ideas before but this is plutonium-fuelled madness.”
NORTHERN Ireland tourist sites are among the potential locations for a nuclear waste “dumping ground”, it has emerged.
Vast swathes of the country are to be examined by a Government firm hoping to find a permanent place for the UK’S radioactive material.
Among them are beauty spots such as the Mourne Mountains, the Causeway coast, the Sperrins and Lough Neagh.
Thousands have signed a petition against a Geological Disposal Facility in the Mournes and campaign groups have vented their anger online.
Newry, Mourne and Down District Council was so concerned it voted to write to Westminster saying it will never consent to a site in the area.
Councillors agreed a motion on the issue at their February 4 meeting, saying: “This council notes with great concern the conclusions made from the National Geological screening for a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) by Radioactive Waste Management which suggests parts of Newry, Mourne and Down District and other areas in Northern Ireland might be suitable for a GDF.
CONSENT
“This council will write to the minister for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy stating council’s position as, ‘Newry, Mourne and Down District Council does not consent, and never will consent to hosting a Geological Disposal Facility in our council area or any part of Northern Ireland’.
“This council asks the other 10 councils in the North to take a similar position and equally write to the minister.”
A spokesperson added the authority was consulted last March about how any future consultation with communities would take place but was not asked if the council would want radioactive waste disposal within its district.
Furious campaigners have called on political representatives to better brief the public on plans.
Mid-ulster group Save Our Sperrins is urging voters to “add this to your list of questions and concerns when the canvassing teams knock your door”.
They added: “We need to stand up and be counted when it comes to defending our community and environment.”
SDLP Assembly member Colin Mcgrath described a video outlining the Mournes as a possible site as “chilling”.
He added: “This announcement from the Government’s Radioactive Waste Management organisation that their investigations show a GDF is possible in places like the Mourne mountains
beggars belief. Our areas of outstanding natural beauty and of significant environmental importance cannot become dumping grounds for British nuclear waste.
“We have been subjected to years of abnormal radioactive levels given our proximity to Sellafield and thi s n e ws that Government agencies have been poking around our Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty to find holes for nuclear waste is beyond comprehension.
“I will be pursuing this matter in the coming weeks and asking Government
departments, ministers and officials for a reality check before any dire decisions are taken.”
A spokesperson for Radioactive Waste Management said 45 regions of the UK are included in their search for a site.
They added: “At this stage, no host site for a Geological Disposal Facility has been identified and no region is being targeted over another.
“Whilst the Northern Ireland Executive has previously supported geological disposal (in 2008 and 2014), any future policy decisions in relation to geological disposal in Northern Ireland remain a matt er for th e Nor th ern Ireland Executive, which is currently suspended.
“In the continued absence of the Executive, no further commitments regarding the disposal of radioactive waste in Northern Ireland (including Newry) can be given. Accordingly, we can confirm that for the time being at least we will not pursue a siting process in Northern Ireland.”
The Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs said there are no plans to site a Geological Disposal Facility in Ulster. It added: “Any future policy decision on geological disposal in Northern Ireland would be a matter for the Executive and subject to community agreement and planning and environmental consents.”
Friends Of The
Earth described the inclusion of the region in plans as “plutonium-fuelled madness” given the paramilitary threat, the border and the fact dangerous waste will have to be ferried across the Irish Sea.
Spokesman Declan Allison added: “Plans to dispose of nuclear waste in Northern Ireland should be dumped.
“Shipping radioactive waste across the Irish Sea, then driving it along country roads, to store underground for hundreds of thousands of years sounds like a plan conceived in a radiation-addled brain.
“Northern Ireland is already in the grip of a systemic failure of environmental protection. Are we really to believe the Environment Agency can guarantee the safety of this dangerous waste for up to a million years?”
Areas of outstanding natural beauty can’t become dumping grounds for nuclear waste COLIN MCGRATH SDLP ASSEMBLY MEMBER YESTERDAY