Issue Briefings – Barrow & Rising Tides

While much of our campaigning work concentrates upon a couple of plants, and nukiller waste, we should never forget the wider issues which we all face.

Thus we have put these two sets of briefing notes to show just how these concerns extent in to other areas.

Barrow

Barrow in Furness became a port because it has a deep water channel.

The building of war ships has been a major industry in the town since the middle of the 19th century.

Today Barrow is best known as the place where BAE Systems build Trident nukiller submarines. The company is also building the Astute-class submarines.

What is less well know is that the ships which transport nukiller waste around the globe go out of the port of Barrow.

Neither do most people realise just what else goes on in the town.

Pacific Nuclear Transport Limited, a subsidiary of International Nuclear Services, is based at Barrow. The company website boast that it is ‘the world’s most experienced shipper of nuclear cargoes’.

Barrow is also the home port for James Fisher & Sons, which works for the military, and built its first ship suitable for transporting irradiated nuclear fuel in the 1960s. The company also provides Nukiller equipment and services.

Then follow up on the various articles on these websites.

From Barrow “Home of Trident” to Faslane: Bairns Not Bombs!

Getting Out Of The Place.

Radioactive Waste – A New Policy In The Making ?

Earthquakes, Rising Tides, and Changes to the Landscape.

When considering the future of any coastal reactor or nukiller plant, we do need to think about the changing landscape, the long term danger of flooding, and the effects of earthquakes.

It might also be noted that this list includes the two earthquakes which effected Blackpool during April & May 2019.

Both of these were caused as a direct result of fracking.

Sellafield

The river Calder, from which the Calder Hall reactor is named, used to be a meandering river. Now the first part of it which goes through Sellafield runs in a straight line. So that any Tsunami which hits the plant will gather momentum as it is channeled through the plant.

It might be noted that there have been a number of floods within the plant over the last few years.

Dungeness, Hinkley, and Sizewell are also in danger of the effects of rising tides, major storms, and tsunamis.

Such dangers can be seen if one looks at the history of these areas.

Dungeness

The Dungeness area is surrounded by marshland. It is well worth considering just how this area has changed over the centuries.

Hinkley

The existing Hinkley plants lie on the River Seven and on the edge of the Somerset levels. That’s an erea which has suffered a lot from flooding over the years.

It is proposed to build a new reactor at Hinkley, though not if we and the Stop Hinkley Campaign can help it

Bradwell

Then consider the Colchester earthquake of April 1884, which is also known as the Great English earthquake.

The key point being that its epicentre was very near what is now the former reactor at Bradwell on the essex coast.

There was the Great Tidal Surge of 1953 which effected the area.

You should also keep in mind the Dogger Bank earthquake of 1931, which reached a magnitude of 6.1 on the Richter magnitude scale.

Looking at the Maps.

Even a brief examination of the Ordinance Survey maps will give one an idea of just how much of a disaster might occur if something might go wrong at one of these sites.

For Dungeness see: –

Asford & Romney Marsh.

Rye & Folkstone.

Landranger 189

For Hinkley see:-

Western-super-Mare

Bridgewater & Wells

Landranger 182

For Sizewell see: –

Saxmundham, Aldeburgh & Southwold.

Landranger 156

and

For Sellafield see: –

West Cumbria and Cockermouth

Landranger 89

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