As the threat of a terrorist attack increases across Europe, a new study reveals that the UK's local authorities are not equipped to deal with the aftermath of such an attack or accident on a nuclear power station. This is despite new legislation (1), which makes local authorities directly responsible for all nuclear emergency planning beyond the station's perimeter fence.
The new study by independent nuclear consultants Large and Associates has revealed that a plume of highly dangerous radiation from an incident at a reactor has the potential of affecting thousands of people in a 36-mile radius in just 7 hours. In stark contrast council emergency plans, which range from closing your windows and doors to a full-scale evacuation, only prepare in detail to minimise radiation exposure for those living up to 1 to 2 miles from nuclear sites (depending on the power station). An explosion involving just one tonne of used reactor fuel at British Energy's Hartlepool plant could mean the entire city of Hartlepool, some 89,000 people, would be at risk (2).
Despite being at risk from fallout, people who live further than 2 miles from an atomic site have no detailed plans to prevent them from being contaminated. For households up to 6 miles away, the best that's on offer during an emergency is to stretch existing plans. Worryingly the Department of Trade and Industry has told councils that when dealing with this secondary zone that "the improbability of a larger incident and release means that the absence of a detailed plan would not significantly increase the risk to the public." (3)
The study has also revealed that despite the UK Government identifying nuclear power stations as terrorist targets, the new emergency plans do not even acknowledge the possibility of an attack, let alone any contingency plans if the attack were to include jeopardising any part of the emergency response.
Greenpeace nuclear campaigner Jim Footner said,
"The Government are warning of possible terror attacks in Britain yet it doesn't seem to think councils should prepare for any nuclear incident that goes much beyond the power station car park. Emergency plans around nuclear plants are on such a small scale that you could have a situation where families on one side of a street will get anti-radiation pills whereas families on the other side will have to fend for themselves."
"Councils should think very carefully before simply rubber stamping the industry's old emergency plans. As Chernobyl taught us, radiation kills and can travel for hundreds of miles. The best emergency plan is to remove the risk in the first place. Nuclear Power Plants should be shut down for good. There are many safer alternatives to nuclear power, for example, wind farms at sea. After all, no one is going to fly a plane in to a wind turbine."
Norman Baker MP, Liberal Democrat Environment Spokesperson concluded,
" This is a very worrying report which demands an urgent Government response. It underlines, yet again, the health and environmental threats we all face from nuclear installations. It also suggests that the Government is wilfully ill-equipped to deal either with an accident at, or a terrorist attack on, a nuclear power station."
Notes to editors:
- The 'Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations' (REPPIR) came into force in September 2002. As part of the legislation the relevant local councils were given 6 months notice to draw up their emergency plans and make them publicly available. The final deadlines for most councils to put their plans in the public domain vary but fall between now and the end of January 2003. REPPIR requires local authorities to prepare, revise, implement and test plans for a nuclear emergency. This involves plans to get safety information to the public, to distribute potassium iodate tablets, which protect against some forms of cancer and to evacuate areas where necessary. Currently, the only local authority to have completed their emergency plans is Sizewell's host, Suffolk County Council.
- If an explosion were to happen involving just one tonne of used reactor fuel at British Energy's Hartlepool plant just 6 miles away from the 89,000 people who live in Hartlepool, then current plans that account for an area of just 0.6 miles around the plant would be overwhelmed.
- Department of Trade and Industry letter to the Nuclear Emergency Planning Group (NEPLG) on 11 March 2002.
Further information:
Copies of the report and interviews please contact:
Greenpeace UK press office on 020 7865 8255
To find out whether you are affected by these plans visit our interactive map.
