Information Bulletin
07 April 2005
Dounreay Wast Plan 'Divisive and Irresponsive' Shetland Council tells Ministers
Shetland Islands Council has sent a strong appeal to Scottish Ministers to reject plans to transport nuclear waste from Dounreay to Cumbria in north - west England.
The plan by Dounreay's operators, the UKAEA, to transport low level waste to the Drigg site near Sellafield was approved by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) earlier this year and it is now up to Environment Minister Mr Ross Finnie MSP to make the final decision.
The Council calls the proposal irresponsible, divisive and unnecessary and says two consultations and the UKAEA's own stakeholder meetings all supported the principle of Dounreay dealing with its decommissioning wastes on-site and not exporting the problem.
In a letter from Convener Sandy Cluness to Mr Finnie, the Council says even the UKAEA is opposed to the plan - but the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) withheld permission for Dounreay's vital super-compacting waste treatment plant to open until the UKAEA agreed to apply for permission to take the waste to Drigg.
The NII argues that the present practice of storing low-level waste temporarily at Dounreay until a new long-term facility is built on the site is against Government policy. However, the Council points out that since the application was made, the UK Government and Scottish Executive have adopted a new policy for decommissioning nuclear facilities like Dounreay and this specifically accepts the need to store wastes until long-term facilities are available.
Mr Cluness said: "The proposal does nothing to help solve the low level waste problem at Dounreay. Instead of taking waste by lorry the length of Scotland and into Cumbria every week for years to come, what is needed is a concerted effort by the UKAEA, stakeholders and regulators to provide a proper, safe, long-term facility for the waste at Dounreay as soon as possible."
"All this proposal does is create anger and discord. Scottish Ministers have the chance to introduce co-operation and agreement by rejecting it."
ENDS
Attached copy of letter to Mr Finnie
SIC Submission to SEPA on UKAEA application