SNP WARN AGAINST IMPORT OF NUCLEAR WASTE

NUCLEAR WASTE SHADOW HANGING OVER AYRSHIRE, THE HIGHLANDS AND WESTERN

ISLES

SNP Environment spokesperson in the House of Commons, Mike Weir MP, has warned the government not to consider importing 

nuclear waste into Scotland following reports that the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) is to recommend 

deep storage of nuclear waste. Mr Weir has called for a government statement in the Commons this afternoon during exchanges 

with the Leader of the House.

There are 33 sites in the UK which have previously been considered as

high level waste dump sites. 22 out of 33 are located in Scotland and 6 of them are in the Western Isles.

The New Scientist Magazine last year uncovered through Freedom of

Information the sites of 12 potential waste sites identified by NIREX in the 1980's - five of the twelve are in Scotland. They are:

*        Under the sea between the Inner Hebrides and Northern Ireland, accessed from the port at Hunterston in North Ayrshire

*        Adjacent to Dounreay nuclear plant in Caithness

*        Altnabreac in Caithness 18 km south of Dounreay

*        Fuday, small, uninhabited island north of Barra in the Western Isles

*        Sandray, small, uninhabited island south of Barra in the Western Isles

Commenting Mr Weir said:

"The SNP will oppose any attempts to import nuclear waste into Scotland for deep storage.

"Scotland has always opposed the dumping of nuclear waste and this

report shows the total folly of the government's nuclear obsession.

"Given the Waste Committee's own estimates of the timescale to prepare a suitable storage site - up to 50 years - there can be 

no doubt that this government's headlong rush to produce even more nuclear waste from new nuclear power stations is the 

wrong policy for Scotland and for our energy future.

"There is no real solution offered here, as even CoRWM point to the need for safe 'interim storage' for one or two generations 

over 'several decades'. They also highlight potential technical problems at sites proposed for deep disposal, as well as 'social and 

ethical concerns'.

"Scotland doesn't want or need new nuclear power stations and certainly doesn't want to become the dumping ground for 

Britain's nuclear waste. 

“We have the opportunity instead to become Europe's renewable power house and government policy should be focused 100% 

on maximising our clean,green energy potential."