WEIR DEMANDS ANSWERS OVER SIZEWELL NEAR DISASTER

WEIR DEMANDS ANSWERS OVER SIZEWELL NEAR DISASTER

RISKS OF NUCLEAR UNDERLINE WISDOM OF RENEWABLES

The UK Government faces a catalogue of questions following the discovery through a freedom of information application that the Sizewell A nuclear power station came close to a serious nuclear disaster in June 2007.

SNP Westminster Energy spokesperson, Mike Weir MP, has tabled a series of parliamentary questions after a Channel 4 News investigation uncovered that it was only pure luck that a contractor noticed water leaking from the radioactive cooling pond that posed “significant risk to operators and the public”. The incident occurred just as the UK government was trying to soften up the public for the building of new reactors.

Mr Weir is demanding to know when Ministers knew about the incident, why the leak was kept secret, and what safety steps have been taken subsequently.

Mr Weir said:

“It is beyond belief that a nuclear disaster was averted by pure luck and yet UK Ministers have had absolutely nothing to say about it. We must be told what led to this near disaster and know whether this was an isolated incident, or whether there is more we are not being told about.

“This incident was clearly inconvenient for Ministers who seem more interested in selling the idea of new generation of reactors than telling us about the dangers of the existing ones.

“The risks and uncertainties of nuclear power, in terms of waste disposal, decommissioning, security and health concerns, or cost, are far too great.

“It is not good enough for this information to be dragged out through FOI requests rather than made public by Ministers.

“This situation perfectly illustrates the safety problems of nuclear power and underlines the wisdom of the Scottish Government's energy strategy - based on our vast clean, green energy sources including renewables, clean coal and carbon capture.

"Without nuclear power, Scotland has the natural resources to generate clean, green power. Harnessing that potential can meet our future energy demands several times over, while tackling climate change and without the danger and uncertainty of nuclear.”