WildLife and the Atom

New Publication

First published by Greenpeace [London] in 1983,Wildlife and the Atom examines the damage done by Nukiller Radiation to our fellow creates.

That was before the ongoing disasters at both Chernobyl and Fukushima.

Now the Close Capenhurst Campaign has produced a second revised edition of the pamphlet in collaboration with Radiation Free Lakeland, and financial help from the Greenpeace [London] group.

Online for now.

Our intention is and always has been to publish a print edition of the pamphlet.

This will be done just as soon as Lockdown is over, and we are able to distribute it.

We will announce the print edition just as soon as we are able to do so.

Countering Capenhurst – April 2020

What Next At Capenhurst?

What Next with the Nukiller Power Industry ?

There are questions which we are currently looking at in the light of the current fall in energy demands and fuel prices.

This in turn will effect the likelihood of nukiller new build taking place.

There is a lot to be considered here, especially when read in connection to such as the following news story:-

‘ EDF withdraws financial guidance for 2020 and 2021 as coronavirus hits power demand.’

Thanks to Lush

As with a number of activists campaigning groups we have received financial support from the Lush Fund, for which we are all extremely grateful.

In February an critical article entitled ‘Just to sell soap’ appeared in Nuclear Engineering International which listed the following as being in support of these funds.

‘ BeyondNuclear, Highlands Against Nuclear Transport, Radiation-Free Lakeland and the Close Capenhurst Campaign, as well as several anti-fracking campaigns and one against coal.’

The logical conclusion to this might be that some people in the the nukiller power industry see these donations us by LUSH as a great threat to their activities.

Yet in contrast we should point out the vast amount of state money which subsidises they receive.

What people in the nukiller power industry need to remember is that with or without this funding we will continue campaigning for just as long as it takes to close down all their plants.

URENCO – Business As Normal

The URENCO COVID-19 statement which was issued on March 20th states: –

‘ Urenco has ongoing detailed preparations in place to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our employees, communities and key stakeholders, and our ability to keep our plants operating.’

Yet contains not a word about the dangers posed to us by the movement of radioactive hex in and our of the plant.

Woops! Nobody Noticed that!

In march this was the headline in The Ferret: –

Radioactive waste wrongly sent to Hunterston nuclear plant

‘ Investigations have been launched into how radioactive waste ended up in a transport container at Hunterston nuclear power station in breach of environmental rules.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) has disclosed that unauthorised radioactive “debris” was found in a supposedly empty fuel flask returned to the North Ayrshire plant from the Sellafield nuclear complex in Cumbria.’

No Trains Today.

There is currently a replacement bus service on the West Coast Cumbria railway line between Workington & Whitehaven. This is because of a landslide at Parton, which is just north of Whitehaven.

Why is this important to note you might just ask, but the point to keep in mind is that the line is used by DRS nukiller waste trains going from Carlisle to Sellafield.

This is the route used to carry highly radioactive spent fuel rods from the Hunterston, Torness, and Hartlepool nukiller power plants.

Future Events.

With DRS in to a Post Apocalyptic world.

As of now, April 2020, there is no indication that the DRS Open Day will take place this year.

Sowe will not be back again leafleting the DRS Depot this year July,

but will continue to leaflet the various stations nukiller waste goes through just as soon as lockdown is over.

Remembering the Windscale Fire

We do hope to be hold an event to mark the anniversary of the 63nd Anniversary Of The Windscale Fire on October 10th

Just what that event will be will depend what the transport situation is by then.

Countering Capenhurst – Spring 2020

Capenhurst 50 years on

On March 4th there was a none alcoholic celebration of the founding of URENCO in the Capenhurst staff canteen.

While we were outside the plant holding a none celebratory event.

Upon assembling at the entrance to the plant we noted two French vehicles with radioactive markings on them.

As we left there was a radiation reading taken from them.

These reading and a report of the event are to be found of the Radiation Free Lakeland website.

50 Years of “Enriching the Future”

&

Protesters call for Capenhurst nuclear plant to be closed down.

Demonstration held as Urenco celebrated its 50th birthday.

New Guidelines

The UK government has published the following set of guidelines.

Shipping radioactive sources between the UK and EU from 1st January 2021

Some of the processes that operators will need to follow when shipping radioactive sources to and from EU countries will change from 1 January 2021.

It makes for some interesting reading.

Future Events.

We will be back leafleting again at the DRS open day event in July.

&

Marking holding an event to mark the anniversary of the 63nd Anniversary Of The Windscale Fire on October 10th.

Nothing to Celebrate

The following statement will be read outside of the URENCO Capenhurst site at 14.00. on Wednesday March 4th 2020.

Nothing to Celebrate.

It is now 50 years since the Treaty of Almalo was signed.

That’s 50 years since URENCO was founded.

That’s 50 years of URENCO enriching Uranium.

That’s 50 years of URENCO taking park of the nukiller fuel cycle,which starts with uranium mining and ends with the creation of vast amounts of radioactive waste.

That’s 50 years of playing a part in the production of extreme energy, causing radioactive pollution, and doing untold damage to the environment.

That is Nothing to celebrate.

We grieve for all those who have been, are currently, and will suffer as a result of the work of URENCO, and at the Capenhurst plant.

We call for the end of uranium mining, uranium enrichment, and the immediate closure of all nukiller powet plants.

We call for URENCO to play a part in cleaning up the radioactive mess which it has caused.

We call for the creation of world in future generations no longer have to suffer the ill effects extreme energy such as nukiller power.

Future celebrations

We will Celebrate when the Capenhurst URENCO plant is Closed Down.

We will celebrate the 50th anniversary of that closure.

We will celebrate the closure of all nukiller power plant.

In the meanwhile we will continue campaigning for the creation of a world without any form of radioactive energy production.

Chester CND

Close Capenhurst Campaign

CND Cymru

Greenpeace [ London ]

Japanese Against Nuclear [ JAN ]

Kick Nuclear

Nuclear Trains Action Group

Radiation Free Lakelands

Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group

Countering Capenhurst – New Year 2020

These last few months we have been very busy on campaign work which is of a long term nature.

This edition of Countering Capenhurst is a brief summary of just some of this work.

New Pamphlet.

One of our major projects at present is working upon a new edition of Wildlife and the Atom.

It is a study of the effects of radiation upon our fellow creature.

The pamphlet was first published by Greenpeace [ London ] in 1983, and so there are a lot of updates which are being added to it.

e.g. The effects upon wild life due to what happened, and is still going on, at Both Chernobyl and Fukushima.

We Hope to have this work published within the very near future.

Cumbrian Coal mine campaign.

There is a proposal to build a new coal mine just a few miles from Sellafield. Keep Cumbrian Coal in the Hole is campaigning to stop this from happening.

We fully support this campaign, and urge others to do the same.

Australian Aboriginal Flags

The Close Capenhurst Campaign has two Australian Aboriginal flags which have been used to make the point about uranium mining outside of various nukiller power plants. From now on they will also be used to make the point about stopping coal mines both in Australia, and elsewhere, on all climate change demonstrations.

Updates.

Waste train Leaflet changes.

As the last of the highly radioactive nukiller fuel rods has been sent from Wylfa to Sellafield, we have altered our Beware! High Level Radioactive Waste Trains leaflet to reflect this fact.

We have also stopped leafleting upon the waste trains issue outside of Chester station, as they no longer go through the city. Though we will continue our leafleting sessions at the other stations they go through.

As ever – If you would like to join in this work, then please let us know.

Springfields Video.

More Uranium Hex Arrived at Springfields on the 62nd Anniversary of the Windscale Fire –

Uranium Prices Are Falling.

Here is a news story which caught our attention of late.

‘ From a spot price of $136 per pound of uranium oxide in June 2007 it fell to just $25.68 this September.

Uranium bulls are “as rare as white unicorns” according to a commentary in FNArena in September 2019, and the market is “sick and dying” with uranium “quickly becoming a dinosaur of a commodity”.

Nothing To Celebrate.

URENCO

50 years on.

The close Capenhurst Campaign will be marking 50 years since URENCO came in to being.

That is the signing of the Treaty of Almelo.

We will be outside of the Capenhurst plant to mark this anniversary at 14.00. on March 4th.

More details about this event in a few weeks time.

New Exports Of Depleted Hex To Russia

URENCO are about to start exporting more Depleted Uranium Hex.

This is from their Gronau plant to Russia.

It might be noted how previous exports of Depleted Uranium Hex to Russia has been critised by WISE as cheap way of URENCO dumping this nukiller waste.

The new contract is for 6,000 tons of Depeleted UF6.

In a second part of this deal another 6000 ton will be exported to Russia between now and 2022. Press reports in Gemany state that URENCO have said that no decision has been made about if this will be exported from Almelo in the Netherlands, or from Capenhurst.

If anyone has any more information on this issue then please let us. know.

On The 62nd Anniversary Of The Windscale Fire.

Public Statement to be read outside of the Gates of the Springfield Plant on the 62nd anniversary of the Windscale Fire.

October 10th 2019

We are gathered here today to lament the Windscale fire which occurred exactly 62 years ago,

The fire was one of the greatest nukiller disasters on British soil.

We remember that the uranium fuel rods which burnt in the fire were manufactured within the Springfield plant.

We remember how the use of Uranium at Windscale and its highly radioactive waste products will continue to be highly dangerous to all life for many centuries to come.

We remember all those people who have suffered ill health as the result of Uranium mining, and its use over the years.

We remember all those are suffering now and in to the future, as the result of the activities which go on in the Springfield plant.

We demand the immediate halt to the production of Uranium fuel and closure of all atomic power plants.

Signed by

Close Capenhurst Campaign

Kick Nuclear

Nuclear Waste Trains Action Group

PAWB – People Against Wylfa-B

Radiation Free Lakeland

&

SWAN – South West Against Nuclear

On behalf of all Humanity.

REMEMBER The WINDSCALE FIRE.

A Vigil to REMEMBER WINDSCALE – 10th Oct 2pm Outside Springfields

On the 62nd Anniversary of the UKs first nuclear accident a Vigil will be held outside Springfields Nuclear Fuels, Near Preston.

Radiation Free Lakeland and Close Capenhurst >ask others to join them on the 10th October at 2pm outside Springfields, Salwick. Nr Preston, in remembering the UKs first nuclear accident. The UKs first nuclear accident took place at Windscale in Cumbria. The fuel for this disaster was made at Springfields near Preston.

The Windscale fire caused widespread radioactive pollution including plutonium and the deadly poison polonium over a wide area of the UK and Europe. The health impacts are still being felt now decades later. Campaigners are calling for an end to the manufacture of nuclear fuel at the Springfields site.

Springfields has fuelled nuclear reactors both here in the UK and overseas since the 1940s and is gearing up to produce the uranium fuel for the next generation of nuclear reactors including that of Hinkley Point C.

Marianne Birkby from Radiation Free Lakeland said “Springfields has been fuelling nuclear accidents alongside routine emissions for decades. As with Sellafield there will be jobs at Springfields for many years to come in “clean up” but as for dangerous new uranium based fuels and the growing tsunami of nuclear wastes, there is not enough fossil fuel and steel in the world to make sarcophagus after sarcophagus to protect the public from the nuclear industry’s ambitions enough is enough”.

Radiation Free Lakeland and Close Capenhurst have been lobbying Lancaster City Council and others to include a No New Nuclear clause in their climate emergency planning. At the presentation of an almost 500 signature strong petition, Lancaster City Council were however not minded to include a No New Nuclear clause. Campaigners say that this nuclear complacency is dangerous : “The nuclear industry despite being a ‘mature’ technology is still a bottomless drain on the public purse. Not only does nuclear take money away from genuine solutions but it has, for decades, been actively suppressing renewables and energy efficiencies in order to leave some room in the grid for nuclear. Salters Duck and unlimited wave power was killed off by the nuclear industry. The nuclear industry is now promoting itself as ‘part of the solution’ this is dangerous nonsense and is the reason why we asked on the 25th September that Lancaster City Council include a No New Nuclear Clause in your Climate Emergency Plans. We hope that you reconsider this request as there must be No New Nuclear here or anywhere else if we are to achieve a sustainable future in the UK.”

Another critic of Springfields continued manufacture of uranium nuclear fuel is energy expert Dr Paul Dorfman ‘Given the very significant radiological risk associated with production at Springfields, and the fact that major population centres are down-wind, it’s truly astonishing that more attention hasn’t been paid to this facility. ‘

Dr Paul Dorfman

The Energy Institute

University College London

No New Nuclear in Climate Planning petition to Lancaster City Council

The Last Used Highly Radioactive Fuel Rods Sent From Wylfra To Sellafield.

Close Capenhurst Campaign Statement

Concerning the last radioactive fuel rods transported by rail from Wylfra.

While we welcome the end of highly radioactive used fuel rods being transported from Wylfra via Chester and Crewe to Sellafield.

We are still concerned about all the other nukiller fuel rods which are transported by DRS [Direct Rail Services ] to Sellafield via nearby Crewe.

We will continue to campaign upon this issue, together with the movement of Uranium Hexafluoride [ Hex ] to and from Capenhurst by road.

While continuing to support the demand of PAWB – People Against Wylfa-B that No New Atomic Power Plant be built on Anglesey .

Countering Capenhurst – Summer 2019

Yet Again – DRS

This year we published a new leaflet which was distributed at the DRS [ Direct Rail Services ] open day at Carlisle. Unlike the previous one we used, this new one can be distributed on other occasions.

You can see a copy of the text of the leaflet we used here: –

As in previous years this protest was organised in conjunction with Radiation Free Lakelands.

Follow on.

On June 1st a DRS nukiller waste flask passed through Warrington Bank Quay station on the way to Sellafield. We will be leafleting outside the station on Thursday August 15th as part of our work to inform people about these dangerous loads.

We will continue to organise more such leafleting sessions at other stations where these flasks go through, as a part of our public awareness work. These will be held outside stations in the nukiller north west. Please let us know if you want to join us on them.

If your in London then you can also join the ones which are organised by the Nuclear Waste Trains Action Group c/o CND Mordechai Vanunu House, 162 Holloway Road, London N7 8DQ

Long term campaigning – long term costs.

Most of the campaigning work we are engaged upon can not be achieved in just a matter of a few years, as the very nature of nukiller power means it will take decades to clean up the radioactive mess.

Thus we always need to think out how to maintain this long term campaigning, and how to finance this work.

Thus unlike many many campaigning groups we have to look at our long term finances and expenditures.

For example – In July we renewed out webpage domain name for another five years.

Then there are the ongoing costs which come from printing and distributing our leaflets.

We don’t have any staff or office to pay for, but there are still travel costs which need to be covered.

It all adds up +£+£+£

Last year we received a very generous donation from the Lush Fund, but we can not forever rely upon such funders to bankroll our work.

At present we are working to produce a new edition of Wildlife and the Atom, which was published by Greenpeace [ London ] in 1983.

That and a couple of other new publication we have in mind to produce will eat in to our finances.

So we are now appealing for your help to finance our essential campaigning work.

If you would like to make a contribution, then email us and we will tell you how it might be done.

Online Resources

7 reasons why nuclear energy is not the answer to solve climate change

Anniversaries & Forthcoming Events

October 10th – Springfields

We will be back at the Springfields plant to mark 61 years since the Windscale Fire.

This will be an event which starts at 14.00.

March 4th 2020

50 years since the signing of the Almelo Treaty.

We will be organising an event to mark this date.

More details later on in the year.