Anti-nuclear campaigners blockade EDF's Hinkley Point nuclear power plant

Since 7am this morning, anti-nuclear campaigners from different anti-nuclear groups which are part of the Stop Nuclear Power Network [1] are blockading the access road to EDF's Hinkley Point nuclear power
station in protest against EDF's plans for nuclear new build and what they are calling a flawed consultation.

Dressed in badger costumes, and locked on across the only access road to Hinkley Point nuclear power station, the activists protest against a flawed EDF consultation for a new Hinkley Point C nuclear power station, which ends today. "This EDF-led consultation is a con" says Mell, a teacher from Suffolk "While it is good to involve the local community, the main question - whether a new nuclear power station should be built or not - is not part of the consultation. What kind of democracy is this if the most important question - whether we want to expose ourselves and coming generations to nuclear danger and radioactive waste - is not part of the consultation?".

Even before EDF has secured planning permission for Hinkley Point C, the company wants to begin with 'enabling works', which has upset the local community. Nikki, a Bridgwater Mum said: "From this autumn on, EDF wants to dynamite and bulldoze 435 acre of green fields - habitats for badgers, bats, and other wildlife, and in close proximity to Bridgwater Bay, which is a sanctuary for thousands of waders, ducks, and other sea birds. It is a joke to think this land could be restored - as EDF claims - should Hinkley C not be built."[2]

"To resist EDF's plans for nuclear expansion, not only here at Hinkley Point, but also at Sizewell, Bradwell, Hartlepool, and Heysham, we call for a boycott of EDF [3]. EDF might try to greenwash itself, but however
hard they try, EDF still stands for nuclear power, and here in Hinkley Point also for Eagerly Destroying Fields. As consumers, we have the power to make our opinion known by boycotting EDF, but also by taking nonviolent direct action. If EDF wants to nuke the climate and the planet, the nonviolent resistance is not just an option, but a duty - at Sizewell, and here at Hinkley Point" [4], says Nicola Deane from Suffolk.

Notes for journalists

[1] The Stop Nuclear Power Network is a UK-based non-hierarchical grassroots network of groups and individuals taking action against nuclear power and its expansion and supporting sustainable alternatives. We
encourage and seek to facilitate nonviolent direct action, as well as more conventional forms of campaigning. For more information see
http://stopnuclearpoweruk.net/
[2] See Stop Hinkley's press release from 13 August 2010: EdF to dynamite and bulldoze Hinkley 44 acre greenfield site,
http://stophinkley.org/PressReleases/pr100813.htm
[3] For more information on the campaign to boycott EDF, see
http://boycottedf.org.uk/
[4] Some of the activists involved in today's blockade also blockaded Sizewell nuclear power station in Suffolk on 22 February 2010. See
http://stopnuclearpower.blogspot.com/2010/02/local-democracy-dumped-sizewell- nuclear.html
[5] Recently leaked documents of EDF show that the reactor technology chosen for Hinkley Point C is all but safe, and that a Chernobyl style catastrophe is possible. See Réseau "Sortir du nucléaire": EXCLUSIVE:
Confidential EDF documents show serious accident risks with the EPR reactor, 30 September 2010,
http://www.sortirdunucleaire.org/index.php?menu=english&sousmenu=presse&page=index#

Spanish protest against nuclear waste storage

Several sites were proposed in the past for the storage of nuclear waste, the latest being Zarra, in the province of Valencia, near Albacete. About 1,500 people took part in the a protest against this.
According to one report, the police arrested 16 activists, including the mayor and 15 local citizens of the town/village of Ayora today.

http://www.levante-emv.com/comunitat-valenciana/2010/09/28/detenidos-vecinos-ayora-protestas-tc/742890.html)

According to another Spanish language news report, 20 local activists from Albacete have been charged with traffic offences, civil disobedience, and public order offences for last weeks actions, which includes a blockade of the A31 between Alicante and Madrid
http://www.abc.es/agencias/noticia.asp?noticia=533504).

According to the same report, about 100 people are being investigated, and 25 were detained.
http://www.latribunadealbacete.es/noticia.cfm/Provincia/20100923/plataforma/atc/zarra/corto/paseo/castellana/4CD29371-D89E-F16F-DC027E65377DD01D), organised by the "Plataforma contra el ATC de Zarra".

About 300 people demonstrated today in Valencia in solidarity with those accused http://www.que.es/valencia/201009281743-unas-personas-concentran-ayora-solidaridad-epi.html

Boycott Vattenfall in Germany?

The press release (in German) says:

"Don't buy electricity from Vattenfall"

Anti-nuclear activists announce resistance to the re-commissioning of Krümmel and Brunsbüttel

Regarding the plans of Vattenfall to re-commission the ailing nuclear power plants of Krümmel and Brunsbüttel, Jochen Stay, spokesperson of the anti-nuclear organisation .ausgestrahlt, declares:

"I can only warn Vattenfall from re-commissioning Krümmel and Brunsbüttel. Nobody in northern Germany would understand that, and the last three years, during which these stations have been shut down, show,
that the electricity of these stations is not needed.

Now Vattenfall once again wants to profit from these dangerous plants, at the expense of the general public. We will organise resistance against this. The first step will be that we will call on the clients of Vattenfall to look for a different supplier for their electricity.“

Already in April 120,000 people demonstrated with a 120km human chain for the permanent shut down of Krümmel and Brunsbüttel.

http://www.ausgestrahlt.de/

Vattenfall is a large Swedish electricity company with nuclear power plants in Sweden and Germany. See at

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vattenfal

High Level Nuke Dump Opposition


Who in their right mind would oppose "Managing Radioactive Wastes Safely" ?

The cleverly (Orwellian) titled: Managing Radioactive Wastes Safely Partnership is designed to stifle any opposition to thegeological 'disposal' of high level nuclear waste.

A Pictorial View of the Lakes Nuclear Sacrifice Zone - from Coniston Old Man


Radiation Free Lakeland are based in South Lakeland on the border with Lancashire and regularly witness radioactive wastes enroute to Sellafield past the RSPB's Leighton Moss reserve, across the Morecambe Bay viaduct on the one side and through Greyrigg on the other.

The 'Partnership' process is aimed solely at steering 'volunteer' communities into the acceptance of deep disposal of high level nuclear wastes. The safer option of above ground and retrievable waste management is not even on the agenda. If the 'volunteer' process fails then the government "will look at other options" to force 'disposal', [DECC – NewBuild RadWaste Summary (Nov ’09) – para 106 page 23 ]

We take this to mean forcing an underground high level nuclear dump (or more than one dump) on communities. The MRWS process is looking to include NewBuild wastes, and the pronuclear Department of Energy and Climate Change is desperate to give the appearance of having 'solved the problem of nuclear waste 'in order to go ahead with new build. In March of this year Nuclear Waste Advisory Associates identified over 100 problems with disposal, and a report published this month by Dr Helen Wallace, for Greenpeace International confirms that deep disposal of radioactive wastes has the “potential for significant radiological releases through a variety of mechanisms”.

Deep disposal of radioactive waste is not the best way to protect people from the dangers that these wastes present.

Radiation Free Lakeland have formally registered their firm commitment to an expression of opposition to the so called Managing Radioactive Wastes Safely Partnership which is doublespeak for Out of Sight Out of Mind- whatever the consequences.

Groups/communities should register their opposition to ensure a viable future for Cumbria and the North West.

letter to "Managing Radioactive Wastes Safely Partnership

Subject: Invitation to join Managing Radioactive Wastes Safely Partnership

From: mariannebirkby@mariannebirkby.plus.comDate: Sun, September 19, 2010 3:52 pm

To: "Rhuari Bennett"

Dear Rhuari, Very Many thanks for the formal invitation to Radiation Free Lakeland to join the MRWS Partnership. Yes we would very much like to be kept informed of activities of the Partnership but will decline membership for the following reasons. We are based in South Lakeland on the border with Lancashire and regularly witness radioactive wastes enroute to Sellafield past the RSPB's LeightonMoss reserve, across the Morecambe Bay viaduct on the one side and through Greyrigg on the other. We understand that your role in the Partnership is as facilitator 'to achieve an outcome' ( http://www.3kq.co.uk/#/the-3-the-k-and-the-q/4529763646).

The Partnership process is aimed solely at steering 'volunteer' communities into the acceptance of deep disposal of high level nuclear wastes rather than looking at the safer option of above ground and retrievable waste management. If the 'volunteer' process fails then the government "will look at other options", [DECC – NewBuild RadWaste Summary (Nov ’09) – para 106 page 23 ] We take this to mean forcing an underground nuclear dump (or more than one dump) on communities. The MRWS process is looking to include NewBuild wastes, and the pronuclear Department of Energy and Climate Change is desperate to give the appearance of having 'solved the problem of nuclear waste 'in order to go ahead with new build.

In March of this year Nuclear Waste Advisory Associates identified over 100 problems with disposal, and a report published this month by Dr Helen Wallace, for Greenpeace International (attached) confirms that deep disposal of radioactive wastes has the “potential for significant radiological releases through a variety of mechanisms”. Clearly deep disposal of radioactive waste is not the best way to protect people from the dangers that these wastes present.

We would therefore like to formally register Radiation Free Lakeland's firm commitment to an expression of opposition to the so called Managing Radioactive Wastes Safely Partnership which is doublespeak for Out of Sight Out of Mind- whatever the consequences.

yours sincerely, Marianne Birkby on behalf of Radiation Free Lakeland

Germans Protest Nuclear Plants

By REUTERS
Published: September 18, 2010

BERLIN (Reuters) — Tens of thousands of Germans surrounded Chancellor Angela Merkel’s office on Saturday in an antinuclear demonstration that organizers said was the biggest of its kind since the Chernobyl disaster in 1986.

The protest, which organizers said drew 100,000 people, could help to mobilize growing grass-roots opposition to Mrs. Merkel’s center-right coalition, which has suffered a slump in popularity since taking office last October.

Near the start of the protest, the police said there were close to 40,000 demonstrators. They declined to give a later estimate.

In a peaceful march around Berlin’s government quarter, protesters converged on Mrs. Merkel’s chancellery to call for a stop to her plans to extend the life spans of nuclear power stations by an average of 12 years.

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/todayspaper/index.html

Nuclear reactors: safe and cost-effective?

Fears are growing about the safety of nuclear technology destined for a reactor in France. At Flamanville, a new third generation reactor is supposed to be activated in 2012, but tests have been deemed unsatisfactory by France's nuclear safety authority. This has fuelled debate on the future of nuclear energy, as France hopes to sell third generation reactors around the world, especially to Britain.


http://www.france24.com/en/20100816-reactor-nuclear-epr-third-generation-nuclear-power-alternative-energy-flamanville-

Nuclear reactors: safe and cost-effective?

 Fears are growing about the safety of nuclear technology destined for a reactor in France. At Flamanville, a new third generation reactor is supposed to be activated in 2012, but tests have been deemed unsatisfactory by France's nuclear safety authority. This has fuelled debate on the future of nuclear energy, as France hopes to sell third generation reactors around the world.