WEIR DEMANDS ANSWERS OVER
SIZEWELL NEAR DISASTER
RISKS OF NUCLEAR UNDERLINE WISDOM OF RENEWABLES
The UK Government faces a catalogue of questions following the discovery
through a freedom of information application that the Sizewell A nuclear
power station came close to a serious nuclear disaster in June 2007.
SNP Westminster Energy spokesperson, Mike Weir MP, has tabled a series of
parliamentary questions after a Channel 4 News investigation uncovered that
it was only pure luck that a contractor noticed water leaking from the
radioactive cooling pond that posed “significant risk to operators and the
public”. The incident occurred just as the UK government was trying to
soften up the public for the building of new reactors.
Mr Weir is demanding to know when Ministers knew about the incident, why the
leak was kept secret, and what safety steps have been taken subsequently.
Mr Weir said:
“It is beyond belief that a nuclear disaster was averted by pure luck and
yet UK Ministers have had absolutely nothing to say about it. We must be
told what led to this near disaster and know whether this was an isolated
incident, or whether there is more we are not being told about.
“This incident was clearly inconvenient for Ministers who seem more
interested in selling the idea of new generation of reactors than telling us
about the dangers of the existing ones.
“The risks and uncertainties of nuclear power, in terms of waste disposal,
decommissioning, security and health concerns, or cost, are far too great.
“It is not good enough for this information to be dragged out through FOI
requests rather than made public by Ministers.
“This situation perfectly illustrates the safety problems of nuclear power
and underlines the wisdom of the Scottish Government's
energy strategy - based on our vast clean, green energy sources including
renewables, clean coal and carbon capture.
"Without nuclear power, Scotland has the natural resources to generate
clean, green power. Harnessing that potential can meet our
future energy demands several times over, while tackling climate change and
without the danger and uncertainty of nuclear.”
ENDS