Campaigners threaten to block ships set to dump 300,000 tons of waste

‘People’s flotilla’: Campaigners threaten to blockade ships set to dump 300,000 tons of ‘nuclear mud’ off the British coast claiming it could contain radioactive particles that cause cancer

  • EDF Energy starting dumping Hinkley Point C waste off Cardiff coast last month 
  • Scientists say material could be contaminated with plutonium and uranium 
  • Hundreds of thousands call for tests while activists vowed to blockade site 

Plans to dump 300,000 tons of ‘nuclear mud’ in the sea off one of Britain’s biggest cities could pose a deadly threat to health, campaigners are warning.

EDF Energy began removing mud from the construction site of the Hinkley Point C power station in Somerset last month and disposing it off the coast of Cardiff.

But scientists say the material could be contaminated with plutonium and uranium in waste from the decommissioned Hinkley A and B reactors near the site and has not been properly tested for radioactivity.

EDF Energy began removing mud from the construction site of the Hinkley Point C power station (pictured) in Somerset last month

Hundreds of thousands have signed online petitions calling for tests, while activists have vowed to blockade the dumping site with a ‘people’s flotilla’.

The campaigners – led by Cian Ciaran, keyboard player with Welsh rock band Super Furry Animals – withdrew a High Court challenge on Tuesday after the Welsh Assembly agreed to hold a debate on whether to suspend the dumping.


  • Russian military expert says there is ‘no doubt’ Putin has…


    Home of British nuclear expert who appears on Russia Today…

Share this article

Keith Barnham, emeritus professor at Imperial College London, said the mud needs to undergo two more types of testing to be sure that it is safe.

Neil McEvoy, an independent member of the Welsh Assembly, said: ‘Nuclear scientists have said particles of weapons-grade plutonium could be in the mud.

EDF has been dumping the waste off the Cardiff Coast, causing concern to campaigners

‘If you are unlucky enough to be exposed to these particles you are going to get cancer in 15 to 20 years. All we are asking is for EDF to test the mud.’

EDF Energy maintains the mud was fully tested by independent experts and is ‘no different to mud found anywhere else’.

 

Source: Read Full Article