Issue 153

Waterfront Debate: Against Nuclear Power

26th February 2007

Currently nuclear power stations produce about a quarter of Britain's electricity. The majority of the UK's power stations are now too old to operate efficiently and safely; as a result they are in the process of being closed down. Only 4% of Britain's electricity will come from nuclear power by 2023 unless further power stations are built to replace the old ones.

Recently the controversial issue of nuclear power has once again hit the headlines after Greenpeace won its case against the government following the government's decision to back a new generation of nuclear power stations. Greenpeace emphasised that the government's review had failed to resolve important issues such as dealing with radioactive waste, costs and reactor designs. The High Court stated that the government's public consultation process was "seriously flawed" and "procedurally unfair." The government has been forced to carry out another public consultation that could delay new nuclear plants stations being built to replace old ones.

The prime minister declared that he would still push on to build a new generation of nuclear power stations regardless because failure to do so would "betray the long-term future of the country." Blair told Sky News that "if we don't replace our existing nuclear power stations, which are coming to an end, we will find it virtually impossible to meet our climate change targets (and) we'll end up importing even larger amounts of foreign gas."

The nuclear industry has seized on the issue of global warming to try and revive the industry and it argues that nuclear power can reduce carbon emissions. In response it has been suggested that even if the government does conduct a further review, nuclear power is not the solution to fight global warming because, in reality, nuclear power only provides 3.6 per cent of our total energy needs. Nuclear power is also too expensive and would undermine the renewable energy revolution that could provide a better, cleaner alternative solution to global warming.

In addition to this, there are many other disadvantages to nuclear power plants. Mining uranium is dirty and nuclear waste from power plants continues to be toxic for thousands of years with no safe way to store it or dispose of it.

Nuclear power stations are also extremely expensive - the decommissioning and clean up costs for the UK's existing nuclear industry have been estimated to be between £56bn - £70bn, with a further £20bn - £30bn needed for long-term management of the nuclear waste we currently have; approximately equivalent to £1600 in taxes for each person in the UK. In today’s political climate, nuclear power stations are also potential terrorist targets. Imagine that terrorists take control of a reactor, or if a plane were to be flown into Sellafield, the fallout from any attack would have the potential to kill several million people. Accidents are a major problem too - nuclear power plants that are not constructed or maintained properly can create major disasters such as the horrific accident that occurred in 1986 when a reactor exploded at Chernobyl and released 100 times more radiation than the atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The accident killed more than 30 people immediately, either as a result of the blast or through radiation sickness and as a result of the high radiation levels in the surrounding 20-mile radius, 135,000 people had to be evacuated. For years to come there was expected to be an increase in cancer and other illnesses in the nearby population due to radiation exposure.

Renewable sources of energy, such as wind, wave, solar and hydroelectric power are the only way to ensure the environmental impact of nuclear power does not help to destroy the planet.

Kerrie Scholefield