15 years after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine, environmental organisations warned that Wales is living under the threat of another nuclear accident.
Nuclear fallout from the Chernobyl accident on April 26 1986 spread radioactive contamination over Europe, with Wales being particularly badly affected. The levels of contamination led to Government restrictions being imposed on sheep holdings in North Wales. Hundreds of square kilometres of land in Wales are still operating under these restrictions because of the continuing high levels of contamination in sheep [1].
Environmental organisations are warning that safety problems at the Wylfa nuclear power station on Ynys M'n mean that the area would live under the threat of another nuclear accident if the station is ever allowed to restart. They are calling for its permanent closure [2].
The station was shut in April 2000 following the discovery of defects in welds on pipes inside the reactor pressure vessel. BNFL plans to get permission to restart the reactors by fitting 'restraints' to the outside of the pressure vessel. However, the nuclear industry's safety regulator admits that this measure would not stop the defective welds from breaking open, it would merely limit the extent of a radioactive release if they did break. [3]
A report commissioned by Greenpeace from independent consultant engineers Large & Associates concluded that a failure of the welds could ultimately lead to a severe accident and significant releases of radioactivity [4].
"The last thing that Wales needs is the threat of another nuclear accident spreading deadly radioactive contamination over the country. The only sane thing for BNFL can do is shut the station down for good, and allow the country to move towards a safe and environmentally sustainable energy future" said Bridget Woodman from Greenpeace.
Dylan Morgan from PAWB said "radioactive releases don't respect geographical boundaries. Experimenting with reopening Wylfa's reactors is a totally unacceptable risk for BNFL to take with the health and safety of the population of Wales."
A WANA spokesman warned "The British 'muddling through' approach to our older clapped out reactors threatens a catastrophe. We are sleepwalking towards the edge of a cliff."
Jill Stallard from CND Cymru stated: "The Chernobyl disaster has left one in three children in Belarus sick, and made an area the size of Britain permanently contaminated and uninhabitable . Restarting Wylfa is a risk too great to take. Nuclear power is past its sell by date, unsustainable and not the way forward for a nuclear free Wales for the future of our children and our children's children."
Neil Crumpton, energy spokesperson for FOE Cymru said, "As the tragic human and economic consequences of the Chernobyl disaster continue to unfold across the Ukraine and beyond, the least we should do is ensure any similar nuclear disaster does not happen in the UK."
Notes for Editors:
[1] The most recently published figures for Wales show approximately 530 square kilometres of land under Government restrictions, covering about 359 whole and partial holdings (More areas freed from Chernobyl Sheep restrictions, National Assembly for Wales press release, 21 January 1998). See map for details of affected areas.
[2] Groups calling for Wylfa's closure: PAWB (People Against Wylfa B/Pobol Atal Wylfa B), WANA (Welsh Anti-Nuclear Alliance), CND Cymru, FOE Cymru, Greenpeace
[3] Nuclear Safety Newsletter, Nuclear Installations Inspectorate, October 2000
[4] Review of Ageing Processes and Their Influence on Safety and Performance at Wylfa Nuclear Power Station, Large & Associates, March 2001.
