from The Guardian, 25 March 2011
The government is being taken to court in a bid to derail its plans for a programme of new nuclear power stations because of fears that leaking radiation will give children cancer.
A 24-year-old community worker from Lancaster has won legal aid to launch an unprecedented High Court action against Chris Huhne, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change. Lawyers claim the action could delay, or even stop, the nuclear programme.
Rory Walker, who lives close to Heysham where new reactors are planned, is worried about having children who could suffer an increased risk of leukaemia. His court challenge is backed by radiation experts and is being pursued by one of Britain’s largest law firms, Irwin Mitchell.
“It is folly beyond belief, and almost genocidal, to build new nuclear power stations,” he told The Guardian. “Nuclear power is unsafe, uneconomic and a dangerous distraction.”
Walker’s decision to go to court long predates the Fukushima nuclear accident, though it has reinforced his fears. “No-one would want to live in a place where kids grow up with leukaemia and mothers have still-born children,” he said.
“My concern is the effect of radiation emissions on myself and my community and the potentially long-lasting impact of radiation on people like myself wanting to start a family.”
Walker, an active member of the Heysham Anti Nuclear Alliance, works on a project to help local people grow more food on a community allotment. Under legal aid rules, he has agreed to contribute £45 a month – 10% of his income – towards the cost of the legal action.
Evidence from government-sponsored studies in Germany has suggested that young children who live close to nuclear power stations suffer twice as many leukaemias and other cancers as other children. The studies, known as KiKK (Kinderkrebs in der Umgebung von KernKraftwerken), have prompted an investigation by the UK Department of Health, the results of which were originally due to be published before the end of last year, but have been delayed.
Dr Ian Fairlie, a consultant on radiation in the environment, is providing expert evidence in support of Walker’s court challenge. “There have been numerous epidemiological studies into the increased incidences of cancer near nuclear power stations,” he said.
“If the risks found following the KiKK study were applied to Heysham, infants and young children under five living within five kilometres would be exposed to increased risks of cancer, especially leukaemia.”
Legal submissions from Irwin Mitchell allege that Huhne failed to take proper account of the cancer risks when he made decisions last year justifying the use of two new reactor designs in the UK. He is accused of breaching a 1996 directive from Europe’s nuclear agency, Euratom.
Huhne argued that the health impacts of new nuclear reactors could be looked at again after construction had commenced. But this was rejected as illegal by Irwin Mitchell.
“The fundamental purpose of the Euratom Directive is to make sure that a comprehensive and detailed assessment is made before new nuclear reactors are built,” said Andrew Lockley, a partner with Irwin Mitchell.
“It does not permit an approach which appears generalised, generic and deferred. Justification requires that the health detriments should be considered and balanced against the economic, social or other benefits which may occur - but this doesn’t seem to have happened here.”
The lawyers want a judicial review to rule that Huhne acted unlawfully, and to quash his decisions. This would force the minister to reassess the issue, they said, and could make him change his mind “in light of recent events in Japan”.
Legal proceedings were formally begun on 28 February, and were originally scheduled to be announced last week. The announcement was postponed, however, to avoid accusations of opportunism in the immediate aftermath of Fukushima.
A spokeswoman for Huhne at the Department of Energy and Climate Change said: “We are confident that the decisions were rightly and properly made. The safety of our nuclear power stations is the government's number one priority and the UK has one of the most rigorous and robust regulatory systems anywhere in the world.”
She added: “The government have asked the Chief Nuclear Inspector, Dr Mike Weightman, to produce a report on the implications of the unprecedented events in Japan and the lessons to be learned for the UK nuclear industry.”
EDF Energy, the French multinational which is leading bids to build up to eight new nuclear power stations around the English and Welsh coast, referred queries to the Nuclear Industry Association, which represents nuclear companies. “This matter is now part of the legal process and we are not therefore in a position to comment,” said the association’s spokesman.
The government has until the end of the month to make a formal response to the legal action, which will then go to a judge, who may order a hearing in London.
The only way to view any intentions to build more nuclear reactors anywhere on earth is that the decisions are made by insane people. Governments make decisions based on 'economics' but that is never a sound judgement. Money is not the most important thing on earth as they seem to think. Apart from anything else, it is not necessary to persist in using outdated methods of producing electricity given the rapid development of alternative fuel production. We need to only build homes that use very little fuel and learn to be more respectful of the earth's resources. What do we ever give back to the earth for all we take out of it and do to it?
Posted by: Sybilmari | 04 April 2011 at 04:44 PM
I don't know about the routine emissions but what about the unexpected emissions after disasters such as Chernobyl, Fukishima, etc? These seem to result in far greater radiation exposure than just the small everyday emissions.
Also is the site susceptible to inundation by "freak waves"? The UK has had several tsunami-type events in the last millenium. The Severn Estuary flooding in 1607 seems to have killed about 2,000 people.
Meanwhile, many UK nuclear power plants are almost built "on the beach".
Posted by: UK energy user | 30 March 2011 at 03:08 PM
More power to Mr Walker! He is absolutely correct to point out the health dangers associated with nuclear radiation. Not enough is being done by government to reduce people's exposure to cancer causing environmental pollution, including nuclear radiation and toxic chemicals. Little wonder that the leading cause of death in children aged 1-14 years today is cancer.
Posted by: Andre Menache | 29 March 2011 at 11:17 AM