The DRS security guy kindly told campaigners that they could use the
facilities, but only one at a time and only escorted by security…and then
bizarrely the portaloos were checked after us! If only they kept such a close
eye on the nuclear waste which once it arrives at Sellafield is dumped into
the air, sea, landfill, even pots and pans.
We were also told that we couldn't take a Geiger counter anywhere inside the
depot as "it isn't that kind of day"…
Many thanks to Campaigners who joined us from members of the public and
representatives from: Radiation Free Lakeland, Close Capenhurst Campaign,
Cumbria and Lancashire Area CND and Kendal Green Party.
Report by Radiation-Free Lakeland.
NEW STUDY ON LEUKAEMIA
RISKS AT LOW DOSAGES
On June 29th Dr. Ian Fairlie reported on a new epidemiological study
published in the July 2015 edition of Lancet Haematology on radiogenic
risks at very low exposure levels. Ian writes that he had discussed several
epidemiological studies providing good evidence for this in 2013 but the
findings in the new study are perhaps even more important.
He cites five reasons for this claim;
1) It provides “strong evidence of a dose-response relationship between
cumulative, external, chronic, low-dose, exposures to radiation and
leukaemia”.
2) It finds radiogenic risks of leukaemia among nuclear workers to be
50% greater than previously thought.
3) It confirms risks even at very low doses. Unlike the Japanese bomb
survivors’ study, it actually observes risks at low dose rates rather
than extrapolating them from high levels.
4) It finds risks do not depend on dose rate thus contradicting the
International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP)’s use
of a Dose Rate Effectiveness which acts to reduce (by half) the
ICRP’s published radiation risks.
5) It finds radiogenic leukaemia risks decline linearly with dose,
contradicting earlier studies suggesting a lower, linear-quadratic
relationship. It strengthens the Linear No-Threshold model of
radiogenic risks, as it now applies to leukaemia as well as solid
cancers.
Nuclear Trains and
Nuclear Power
The monthly mailing of the Nuclear Trains Action Group of
London Region CND.
NTAG, Mordechai Vanunu House, 162 Holloway Road, London
N7 8DQ; tel. 020-7607 2302.
e-mail: david.lrcnd@cnduk.org
web: www.nonucleartrains.org.uk
Editor: David Polden
July 2015
NEXT NUCLEAR TRAIN STALL AND LEAFLETTING
Saturday September 5th, 11.30am-1.30pm: stall and leafletting outside
Bromley South Station to protest against the nuclear trains that go through
this station. Joint action with Bromley & Beckenham CND group.
REGULAR FRIDAY SOLIDARITY VIGIL
Every Friday (since August 2012) 10am-12.30pm, outside Japanese
Embassy, 101-104 Piccadilly (Green Park tube): Vigil in solidarity with antinuclear movement in Japan. Organised: Kick Nuclear and Japanese Against
Nuclear, UK.
NEXT GENERAL PLANNING MEETING
Monday August 3rd, 7pm at the CND office; address at top.
HINKLEY UPDATE
In the previous Nuclear Trains I reported that the Austrian Government was
launching a legal complaint with the European Union against the European
Commission’s decision that the UK Government’s agreement with EDF to
guarantee a price for the electricity it produced at Hinkley did not break EU
rules on state aid.
In early July Greenpeace and nine German and Austrian utilities selling
renewable launched a similar complaint with the European Union.
In spite of a DECC spokeswoman claiming that “We…have no reason to
believe that Austria will submit a challenge of any merit”, the Telegraph
revealed on 30th June that in fact the Government and EDF were in talks
about who should pick up the tab if Austria wins its appeal.
It was also reported, by the Financial Times on the 14th June that talks
between the government, EDF and its two potential Chinese partners over a
final financing package were supposed to be completed by March but have
dragged on and that officials and executives are “working towards a fresh
deadline of October, when China’s President Xi Jinping has a state visit to
Britain.”
“OPEN DAY” IN CARLISLE
SINS OF OMISSION?
Amber Rudd, the new Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change has
a brother by the name of Roland who, as pointed out in Private Eye 1396
(10-23 July 2015), is the founder & chair of a PR company called Finsbury,
among many other posts. (You will find his profile here:
http://www.finsbury.com/our-people/) However there is no mention of her
brother in the Parliamentary List of Members Interests under its Amber Rudd
entry. Neither does he get mentioned there under the new category, “Family
Members Engaged in Lobbying”. The Private Eye story points out that
Finsbury is listed as the PR firm representing Kier, and therefore presumably
lobbies for it. What is more Kier is involved in the Hinkley C project.
(Confirmation about this contract is on the Kier website:
http://www.kier.co.uk/investor-relations/contacts/advisors.aspx
Also Construction News reported, 27/5/14, that “The Kier/Bam Nuttall joint
venture expects to start phase two of site preparation at Hinkley Point C this
month, Kier’s group finance director has told Construction News.”)
So not only is Amber’s brother the Chair of a PR Company and therefor for
that reason alone should be listed under the category “Family Members
Engaged in Lobbying”, but his PR company is actually involved in lobbying
on behalf of a company with a stake in the nuclear industry, surely a relevant
“interest” in relation to her job as Energy Secretary.
LOSING FAITH
It seems that even the construction industry is losing faith in the
government’s plans for nuclear newbuild to deliver the golden apples so long
promised. The 21st July edition of Construction News carries an article
entitle “To those who wait” by Gavriel Hollander. It begins: “At times it has
felt as if the prospect of new nuclear power stations being developed on our
shores had a similar status to that of Greek mythology: you knew there was a
grain of truth in there, but it all seemed too unlikely to be real.”
On 21st July also, Amber told MPs on the DECC Committee that there is a
“very good prospect” of a decision to build Hinkley C being taken later this
year, which seems to imply there is also a possibility of its not being.
Yesterday [18th July] was surreal. Thousands of train enthusiasts descended
on the back road train depot of Kingsmoor in Carlisle encouraged by Direct
Rail Services [DRS] to "celebrate 20 years" in a Charity Open Day. The £5
entrance fee going to “charity” (i.e. cash strapped local hospitals and good
causes that in “austerity”-free days would be funded by government.)
Now the Nuclear Industry can show off its largesse while the public pay for
the privilege of shunting nuclear wastes around our towns and villages.
The demographic attending the Open Day was largely eager older men with
their notebooks and cameras at the ready to photograph the engines. These
train enthusiasts were interspersed with families with excited young children
running down to meet the DRS teddy bear and the nuclear freight engines.
DRS is wholly owned by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and was
set up specifically to haul radioactive wastes to Sellafield for reprocessing.
Reprocessing increases the volume of wastes by180 times, much of it
spewing out to the Irish Sea every day. DRS has teamed up with Stobart’s
and Tesco and now hauls freight other than nuclear waste, but nuclear waste
is the sole reason why this state-owned railway company is in operation.
Campaigners welcome state-owned railway companies carrying both freight
and passengers but it is way past time to stop the transport of highly
radioactive nuclear materials through our cities, towns and villages.