This morning I have been reading about the radioactivity and poisoning of the Ribble estuary, from Uranium shipped in at Ellesmere Port, nuclear fuel rod processing at Salwick near Preston. Decades of toxic poisoning which will persist for millions of years. As a fracktivist in Somerset I have linked in with the anti-nuclear campaign I my local area and safe solidarity with the Radiation Free Lakeland campaign. Its So important that we connect our energy campaigning. Lancashire County Council dropped radioactivity monitoring yet the extremely damaging impacts on human and animal health and the environment persist. I urge people in Lancashire to connect with the Radiation Free Lakeland campaign, to read Marianne Birkbys expose on their website. Snippet below. THERE IS NO SUCH as THING AS A SAFE DOSE OF RADIATION Nuclear safety officials at the centre of an atom scare today admitted that for almost 45 years they have not carried out full radiation tests along the River Ribble. Scientists at the BNFL Springfield’s plant at Salwick, near Preston revealed that they only began wide-ranging riverside searches for radiation hot spots this week. The news comes just days after Friends of the Earth claimed children playing along the river at Penwortham, near Preston, could be receiving large doses of radiation from mudflats allegedly contaminated by discharges from Springfields. The report coincided with a Granada TV investigation into the A-plant – which makes fuel for nuclear reactors – in which a former worker claimed three of his daughters died from illnesses linked to radiation. URGENT Today it was revealed that BNFL failed to carry out tests, which specifically located the high beta radiation hot spots on the Ribble, and a Springfields physicist admitted the tests have only been introduced in the last week. Today Lancashire County Council leader Coun Mrs Louise Ellman called for BNFL to stop discharges from the plant and said a special study by the council’s own radiation watchdog, RADMIL , was to be carried out. Local residents have also demanded urgent meetings with BNFL chiefs. This week independent researcher Paul Brown, from Southport, revealed he found high levels of beta radioactive contamination – which can be harmful in high doses – in river mud. Friends of the Earth has produced similar readings and claims BNFL has failed to meet legal obligation to reduce radioactive discharge levels below newly- imposed limits. BNFL has carried out riverside monitoring to find gamma radioactivity and taken random samples to monitor beta levels but without testing for beta hot spots with Geiger counters. Now BNFL has been ordered by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to begin regular Geiger counter checks. Area Health Physicist (Environmental) for Springfields, Roger Wilson said that previously radioactive pollution from the Sellafield nuclear plant was so high that pollution from Springfields was considered negligible. He said: “We only began measuring beta radioactivity as part of the official programme last week. Previously Sellafield dictated people’s exposure to radiation, since their emissions were so much higher. As that plant has got a grip of discharges and the environment has adjusted, so the importance of Springfield’s discharges has grown.” But he reassured the public that discharges were well below safety levels. Mr Brown welcomed the move to monitor beta levels and said: “It is a vital part of assuring that strict safety levels of radioactivity are adhered to. The only way of locating where hot spots might develop in the area is to take Geiger-counter readings of the mud. mariannewildart.wordpress/author/mariannewildart/ We don’t need or want radiation from nuclear in the environment
Posted on: Fri, 22 Aug 2014 09:26:43 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015