Nuclear Fears at Wylfa---From The Daily Post--Dr Carl Iwan Clewes

Will are DECC meeting on the 6th February be the same?

There should be democratic discussions not totalitarian planning in our economy

Nuclear fears

THE Department of Energy and Climate Change Office for Nuclear Development (OND) held a consultation exercise at Wylfa recently.

Unfortunately, it did little to allay the fears for those of us who have genuine concerns about any future development of a nuclear power station on Ynys Mon.

The OND confirmed that high-level radiation waste for Wylfa B could not be moved off site and would be stored at Wylfa for up to 160 years so making us an obvious target for any malcontents

Representatives dismissed the proximity of RAF, Y Fali as of no concern despite the training of many pilots from overseas and the recent near-miss incident between two Hawk fighters during a training session

There was equal dismissal of the illogic of locating the station over a 100 miles from the major users of the supply and, thereby, losing some 30% of the supply in transmission.

No evacuation procedure for the island is in place in the case of a real emergency

Findings of increased levels of childhood cancer and, notably, leukaemias recognised by the German government in populations living in proximity to nuclear stations were not felt to be relevant here. Further work is urgently required

The impact on areas of conservation of international importance was disregarded as “the national interest” prevails

Some 9000 workers will be involved in the construction phase. No consideration has been made of the impact of a massive development such as this on the Welsh language and culture which, not surprisingly, did not feature during any of the presentations from the platform nor in the exhibition in the Cemaes village hall which also ignored the language

Despite all the above, the OND have disregarded our Welsh Assembly Government Minister`s call for a public inquiry

Several councillors and employees of Wylfa spoke supporting the OND`s proposal. I believe most of them are mindful of the concerns outlined above and yet support a new nuclear station based primarily on the need for employment. This is understandable but other opportunities abound not least in the area of energy as Ed Milliband the Westminster Minister announced on Friday with the new generation of off-shore wind turbines providing a quarter of the UK`s energy requirements and, potentially, a massive boost for employment in the Holyhead area. This is where our efforts should lie. We should lead urgently by example and avoid any of the potential pitfalls of new nuclear build.

Dr Carl Iwan Clowes FFPH, Rhoscefnhir, Ynys Môn