Nuclear Dilemma (From Gazette Series)

Nuclear Dilemma

RESIDENTS have been told they need to decide whether or not they will allow Berkeley power station to be decommissioned in 25 years instead of the recognised 125 years.

At a meeting on Tuesday night, residents met with representatives from the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) to discuss what could be done with the power station and the land it stands on.

The NDA - launched on April 1 by the Government - is the official body now in charge of overseeing the decommissioning of nuclear power stations around the country.

NDA strategy manager Terry Selby told the meeting at the Berkeley Arms Hotel: "It is a process that is funded by the taxpayer and we want to find the best value for money.

"The cost of decommissioning and ongoing operations of some plants is running at £56billion but we hope to reduce this figure by 10 percent by 2010.

"We are talking about very serious money to clean up this nuclear legacy." Members of the public became concerned at the meeting when Mr Selby suggested one way to reduce the overall decommissioning cost would be to clear 11 reactor sites nationally, including Berkeley's power station by 2030.

This time scale is one fifth of the 125 years needed for natural decay to reduce the amount of radiation given off by a nuclear power plant's reactors.

Berkeley Town councillor Val Watts said: "Surely it would cause nothing but trouble for people to remove the reactors early and cost the taxpayer extra?"

However, NDA argued that maintaining a nuclear-licensed site for 125 years would, in the long run, cost the taxpayer much more than using new robotic machinery to decommission the site earlier.

Mr Selby said: "Techniques do exist without endangering work forces. "We are not going to sacrifice safety."

These reassurances did little to comfort those at the meeting who were worried about safety.

Cllr Derek Burgess, from Alkington Parish Council, said: "I am very concerned that the 25 years might be a bit short in reducing the level of radio activity."

Mr Selby said it was up to residents to decide what course of action they wanted to take for the Berkeley station.

"How clean is clean enough?" he asked.

The public consultation of the future of Berkeley Nuclear Power Station ends on November 11. By this time residents and representatives from local parish and town councils need to decide how long the NDA should take to decommission the site.

The NDA will then collate the comments they receive ready to present to the Government and Scottish ministers as part of the national decision process on decommissioning.

Anyone wishing to express an opinion on the decommissioning of Berkeley should write to Penny Wride by November 11 and send it c/o Steve Payne at steve.payne@magnox.co.uk