John Hetherington
Cumbria County Council has, in both the original 1976 Planning Inquiry, and in the subsequent debates over the licensing of THORP, supported the operation of the reprocessing facilities at Sellafield. The Council has no agreed position on the issue of reprocessing. We recognise both its advantages for the Cumbrian economy, and the many environmental concerns raised at its continuation. There are around 10,000 jobs directly associated with the operation of Sellafield. Their continuation needs to be assured and any changes managed carefully and in a measured way. There has also been a steady decline in discharges to the environment since the peaks in the 1980's. Discharges are now at levels where the exposure of those most affected is a small fraction of the natural exposure to radiation which we all experience. The OSPAR agreements will require still further reductions over the coming years. So, the issues are not, in our view, clear-cut.
