Move to halt dumping of radioactive mud off Bay
CAMPAIGNERS who do not want mud dredged from an area near a disused nuclear power station to be deposited off Cardiff Bay have secured a National Assembly debate on whether the marine licence should be suspended.
More than 7,100 people backed a petition which raised concerns about the dredging, which is due to start this summer as part of the construction of the new Hinkley Point C reactors.
The Assembly will debate the call for the suspension of the licence on May 23.
If the dredging goes ahead, sediment will be taken from the seabed to allow drilling for six vertical shafts for the cooling water system. This will be moved to the “Cardiff Grounds” site in the Bristol Channel.
The petitioners want a full environmental impact assessment, radiological analysis and “core sampling” to be carried out.
But EDF, the company responsible for the building project, claims the radioactive dose received from the sediment would be the equivalent of eating 20 bananas a year.
Natural Resources Wales reported earlier this year that an analysis of sediment samples found radiological and chemical results were within “acceptable, safe limits”.
Plaid Cymru AM Simon Thomas said that while the mud is “not dangerous”, the licence should still be rejected.
He said: “It is completely unacceptable that waste from a nuclear construction in England should be moved to Welsh waters without any payment or compensation to the Welsh taxpayer.
“Plaid Cymru has always taken a responsible, evidence-based approach to the nature of the material itself, however, demanding the highest standards of testing and verification, and we have not alleged the mud is dangerous without such evidence.
“Now the public can see the full picture. It is clear that testing has been robust and the material is not dangerous.
“The question still remains, however, as to why this material is being deposited in Welsh waters without compensation.
“If it disperses or has an effect on the local environment, it will be for the Welsh Government to make good any such impact in a protected marine area.
“Plaid Cymru urges Welsh ministers to reject the licence, as there are no provisions for such compensation.”
An EDF Energy spokesman said: “The dredging of mud from the seabed off the Hinkley Point C site is necessary ahead of drilling six vertical shafts for the cooling water system for the new nuclear power station.
“The mud is typical of sediment found anywhere in the Bristol Channel and no different to sediment already at the Cardiff Grounds site.
“Natural Resources Wales has confirmed that new, independent analysis of sediment samples taken in 2017, carried out by [the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science], has again shown that the sediment is not classed as radioactive under UK law.
“It poses no threat to human health or the environment.
“The original testing and radiological impacts were assessed using internationally accepted best practice and the original findings have been confirmed by the latest analysis,” added the spokesman.