ANTI-nuclear campaigners have spoken out against the storage of atomic waste from Oldbury Power Station at the decommissioned Berkeley site.

Members of the Stroud District Green Party claimed dangerous waste could not be monitored and was unacceptably hazardous.

Last month the Gazette reported that under a preferred option revealed by industry bosses, 100 loads of intermediate level waste (ILW) would be taken the 12 miles by road from Oldbury, near Thornbury, to go into a storage building which is nearing completion at Berkeley.

It will take six years from 2017 to complete the movement, with the material added to Berkeley's own ILW.

Methods of storing radioactive waste, of which there are a number of types, form a key part of decommissioning old Magnox nuclear stations such as Oldbury and Berkeley.

There is a long term plan to provide a large geological disposal facility but that is unlikely to be ready for at least another 27 years, making it necessary to find intermediate storage.

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) said a shared store for Oldbury and Berkeley would save £15 million in building costs compared to having a store at each site.

The proposal was criticised by Berkeley councillor Gordon Craig, who said the town would become known as a dumping ground and hit house prices.

Green Party activist Caroline Molloy said: “The Government would have us believe that nuclear power is a safe and wise option.

"But we still don't know how to deal safely with the nuclear waste we've got, much less new waste from proposed future developments like the one on the table for Oldbury.

"The Green Party is opposed to new nuclear build because of these long term waste issues. We need better, safer solutions for our energy needs.”

She said instead of "shackling" the country with expensive new nuclear power and "environmentally reckless" shale gas, the party wanted to control energy bills and create more jobs by investing in warm and efficient homes, energy storage and smart grids, as well as renewable energy supply owned by public, private and community enterprises.

The NDA is inviting comments on its preferred option until January 31, 2014.