Is Northern Ireland to become a nuclear dumping ground?????
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Margaret Ritchie MP has expressed deep concerns about proposals to bury nuclear waste in Northern Ireland.[/caption]A deeply worried South Down MP Margaret Ritchie has raised significant concerns about early moves to identify the North as a spot for dumping Britain’s Nuclear Waste.
Radioactive Waste Managament Ltd have launched a consultation on proposals for the draft National Geological Screening Guidance which will be used as the basis for locating a geological disposal facility for underground storage of nuclear waste.
She said: “I was absolutely appalled to learn that Northern Ireland is being included in consideration for locating a geological disposal facility which holds significant amounts of highly radioactive waste underground. Such a move would be a disaster for our environment and the clean energy market that we should be investing in. “The North does not want nuclear waste. It doesn’t matter if it comes from indiscriminate discharges from the Sellafield Plant, from underground disposal facilities or from new nuclear sites. We will not become a backwater dumping ground for Britain’s nuclear waste. “Northern Ireland has some of the best opportunities for renewable energy technologies on these islands. Geothermal hotspots and expertise in off shore wind energy make us an ideal area for growth of the renewables sector. That should be our focus in the time ahead, not allowing our land to be used to meet the needs of nuclear power.”
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