East Lothian Greens are raising questions about proposals by the operators of the Torness nuclear power plant to change the way that radioactive waste is handled.
Multinational EDF Energy want to vary the authorisations for Hunterston and Torness to enable radioactive waste to be moved between the sites for "accumulation" before being disposed elsewhere.
East Lothian Greens campaigner Jason Rose said:
"EDF put in their application to Sepa eight months ago. It's not good enough that most local people are only learning about it now thanks to the media.
"The disposal facilities EDF have in mind may not be based in the UK. How can we be sure the waste will be disposed of properly and why do EDF want to remove the authorised limits relating to radionuclide activity, when we know about the risks to human health?
"Buried within the Sepa consultation is EDF's intention - to allow for accumulation of what they call economic loads prior to disposal. In other words, the company is looking to cut the cost of managing the radioactive waste it generates. This from a firm whose profits are £53 a second and whose chief executive gets a cool £1million in salary.
"Safety of the environment and people's health should be paramount, not a very wealthy private firm's budget.
"It's also worth noting that the accumulation of waste is outwith Sepa's control, and falls to the ONR. This sort of disjointed regulation isn't ideal."
Mr Rose concluded:
"Sepa say it will reach its decision based on responses from the public, so it's important people make their views known. They also say they'll consider government policy, and of course government policy is for the volume and activity of nuclear waste to be minimised, along with the risk of exposure. Trucking this material around the country doesn't strike me as in keeping with those aims."
Sepa consultation
Energy giant raked in massive profit while pushing up costs to struggling customers (Mirror)
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