14 May 2006
Nirex, the government's nuclear waste agency, had secret plans to promote the burying of radioactive waste and open the door to new nuclear power stations, the Sunday Herald reports today. The full story follows.
from the Sunday Herald, 14 May 2006
A covert campaign to ensure that opposition to burying waste was overcome has angered anti-nuclear groups and raised questions about the tactics of a government agency.
By Paul Hutcheon, Scottish Political Editor
Plans to launch a covert campaign to overturn sustained opposition to burying nuclear waste and pave the way for a new generation of nuclear power stations were drawn up by a government agency, it has been revealed.
The proposals included putting "third party pressure" on a separate government committee given the task of investigating the issue, "enlisting" politicians sympathetic to their cause and "isolating" those who were not.
Nirex, the government agency responsible for the disposal of radioactive waste, also produced a list of MPs, MSPs, civil servants and journalists to lobby about disposing the waste produced by nuclear power stations.
The agency has admitted drawing up the "media and public affairs strategy" but insists it was merely a draft put together by a junior member of staff and that some of the suggested tactics were not used.
The UK government-appointed Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) has accepted the Nirex proposals and overturned previous opposition to the burying of nuclear waste. Its recommendations are expected to be used by Tony Blair to support his plans for a revived nuclear power industry, which would have been held back because of uncertainty over how to deal with the waste.
Nirex's plans have come under fire from campaigners sceptical about the safety of burying nuclear waste.
“It is genuinely shocking that such a covert operation should have been considered by a public body,” said the Green MSP, Chris Ballance. “It exposes the extent of the spin operation that the nuclear industry has waged in order to skew the debate on nuclear power and this should be publicly and independently investigated.”
The internal Nirex document (pdf available here), which is posted on the anti-nuclear website, nuclearspin.org, was produced in 2004, the year after the Government set up CoRWM to review the options for dealing with 470,000 cubic metres of waste from nuclear power and weapons.
Nirex, which was established by Britain's nuclear industry and became a government agency last year, has always favoured disposing of the waste in a deep underground respository. It was determined to win CoRWM support for its cause.
Forseeing the looming debate on storing nuclear waste, the Nirex strategy "draft" noted that it was essential for the agency to “bring third party pressure to bear" on CoRWM. Oral briefings with key figures would enable Nirex “to engage in a more candid dialogue about CoRWM”, it said.
It then lists MPs who were “suggested targets” for briefings, including Scottish backbenchers and front-bench performers from all the major political parties. Holyrood was also in Nirex's sights, including a “targeted mailing” of MSPs and trips to Finland or Sweden. The report mentions the need to “extend contact” with Environment Minister Ross Finnie, his former deputy Allan Wilson and Scottish Executive special adviser Peter Hastie.
Other “possible contacts” included Highlands MSPs Jamie Stone and Maureen Macmillan, special adviser Derek Munn, Tory David Mundell and journalists. The report also mentioned the need to lobby councillors: “The May 2003 elections saw change in personal [sic] and, although approaching them without causing suspicion will be difficult, contact needs to be renewed and updated.”
The Nirex report also noted that Scotland suffered from a “dangerous combination” of interest in waste issues and a “lack of up to date knowledge”.
In addition, the public affairs strategy complained of "frustration" at UK civil servants who sought, it said, "to keep us wrapped up". A publicly funded trip to Finland or Sweden was seen as a way to win over the doubters.
“By including both enthusiastic and reluctant officials and special advisers the aim would be to win over those who have concerns about the political and environmental acceptability/ practicality of a solution," the report said.
More controversially, another report - which was written by Allan Rogers, a one-time consultant to Nirex - urged them to go further in their attempts to woo the media and political elites.
Rogers, whose report says he was “asked to comment” on the 2004 strategy, said there would be a need to “push the government into action” if CoRWM backed underground storage. He stated: “They will still be facing the same problems and lobby groups that they face today - NIMBY, anti-Nirex, community worry, green and environmental groups etc.”
A “process of preparation for the target groups” must be put in place, his report said, adding that “it can't be high profile.” Recruits would be selected on the basis of “influence potential”, after which they would be provided with “appropriate communications messages and platforms”.
His advice also focused on how to tailor Nirex’s message to parliament and government. The report noted that it would be essential to “bolster” sympathetic MPs and “isolate” those who were hostile. “This can be done by….enlisting a cadre of MPs who are ready and well-briefed to respond ‘spontaneously’ to the CoRWM report,” it said.
“We have to be sure that 'opinion leaders are carefully recruited and groomed,'” the Rogers report said. In the margin a Nirex offical has handwritten “careful!”.
The aim was to convince "target groups" that deep underground disposal was the best way forward "otherwise there can be no future development of the nuclear industry," it argued.
Rogers' dossier also mentioned Nirex’s poor public reputation. It stated that the body could be perceived as “an arm of the nuclear power industry”, as well as an organisation that “hasn’t always been open and forthright in the past”.
The waste issue is acutely sensitive in Scotland because of the polarised debate on whether to build a new generation of reactors. MSPs will have the final say over any planning application - hence the nuclear lobby’s interest in Scotland.
Nirex has also come under fire for the amount of taxpayers’ money it has spent on public affairs specialists and lobbyists. The group has paid Edinburgh based Fleishmann Hillard, formerly GPC, around £400,000 since 2001 for “corporate communications advice”.
The company has facilitated contacts between Nirex and MSPs and also helped officials attend a meeting of the Parliament’s cross party group on the civil nuclear industry.
A spokesman for Nirex said the internal report was a “first draft” written by “the most junior member” of staff. He also said it was “unfortunate” the report mentioned putting “third party pressure” on CoRWM.
On the Rogers report he said: “That was a pitch document. We did not agree with his comments on what we needed to do in the future, and his advice was not taken up.”
But this was rejected by critics. “Nirex is an offshoot of the nuclear industry. The leopard hasn’t changed its spots,” said Friends of the Earth Scotland chief executive, Duncan McLaren. “This report is unacceptable as it is unaccountable to public scrutiny.”
WASTE IN SCOTLANDOver the next hundred years Scotland's civil and nuclear military facilities will create a massive 218,000 cubic metres of radioactive waste, according to an analysis by Nirex.
The waste will come from all Scotland's seven nuclear plants as they are run down and decommissioned. At the moment there is no agreed way of disposing of the waste, some of which can remain lethal for thousands of years.
Up to April 2004, the seven plants had produced 13,385 cubic metres of waste, half of which is classified as medium-level, and half low-level. Most is at the Dounreay nuclear complex in Caithness. The current breakdown is shown below.
plant / medium-level waste (cubic metres) / low-level waste (cubic metres)
Dounreay, Caithness / 3770 / 5890
Hunterston, North Ayrshire / 2110 / 28
Rosyth, Fife / 546 / 552
Chaplecross, Dumfries and Galloway / 78 / 168
Torness, East Lothian / 159 / 68
Clyde naval base, Dunbartonshire / 0 / 9
Vulcan, Caithness / 7 / 0TOTALS / 6670 / 6715
source: Nirex
