Plaid Slam Labour for Allowing Radioactive Waste
Dr Dai Lloyd demands Wales is not used as nuclear dumping ground
Plaid Cymru AM for South Wales West, Dr Dai Lloyd has hit out at Welsh and UK governments for considering the whole of Wales as a potential dumping ground for the UK’s nuclear waste.
Dr Lloyd AM will be speaking against Wales storing nuclear waste at a CND event held in Swansea tonight.
The Welsh Government has promoted the UK Government’s offer of up to £2.5 million to any community willing to take the waste products.
Two public consultation meetings have been scheduled in Wales, Swansea on 12th March and Llandudno on 14th March, with a further 8 in England but none in Scotland or Northern Ireland. Reacting to the proposals Dr Lloyd stated:
“Yet again we are seeing Unionist governments, in Cardiff and London quite happy for Wales to be dumped on. We saw it last year with mud from Hinkley Point being dumped in the waters off Cardiff Bay, and now Wales is being considered as a location to house the most dangerous radioactive waste in the British State.”
“This shows a complete disregard to our country from both the Tories and Labour. We see renewable energy projects such as the Swansea Bay Tidal lagoon scrapped, green initiatives such as rail electrification cancelled but dumping radioactive waste given serious consideration at both ends of the M4.”
Dr Lloyd also raised safety concerns surrounding the potential storage of Higher Activity Radioactive Waste in Wales, stating:
“We have seen examples across the globe what happens when something goes wrong with nuclear power, Wales was impacted by the Chernobyl fallout in Ukraine for example. If something were to go wrong with this, the most dangerous radioactive waste in the UK, Wales is that small in terms of landmass that there would doubtless be impacts on major settlements across the country”
“There are also many geological constraints such as the proximity of underground aquifiers, coal deposits, faultlines and unsuitable rock formations.”
Welsh Government Environment Minister Lesley Griffiths AM, has stated that communities will have a financial reward and new jobs should they be willing to play host to the radioactive waste, Dr Lloyd added:
“Offering impoverished communities millions of pounds to store this dangerous is a disgraceful tactic. The figure of up to £2.5 million would no doubt be an attractive proposition to many communities across our country, but at what cost?”
“The Welsh Government should shut down any attempt to store the most dangerous radioactive waste in the UK, but it seems they are open to our nation being used as the dumping ground of the British State. In Wales we seem to have a Government welcoming these proposals.”
