In the news today, David Cameron is meeting Nicolas Sarkozy to sign a deal to strengthen co-operation on civil nuclear development. The deal is to create 500m of commercial deals and 1500 jobs. This is paving the way for the replacement of nuclear power plants on 8 sites by 2025. Full article at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17069455.
The picture I have posted is to be compared to the one here:
This shows the radiation between 30th march 11 - 03 april 11 from Fukushima. If you compare distances to that of Hinkley Point in Somerset you can see the implications that a disaster would have. Comparing the 20km exclusion zone from fukushima would mean evacuation of Bridgewater, Weston Super Mare and Taunton. But you can see from the NNSA picture that radiation went alot further than that. In an article in New Scientist (http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20305-caesium-fallout-from-fukushima-rivals-chernobyl.html) it says levels of radiation cause concern 30-50km away (that would include Cardiff and Bristol).
A disaster at a Nuclear power station is extremely unlikely as we are often told, however with the results of one being so extreme why are we taking the risk? Our government could be developing renewables instead of swapping one environmental disaster for another.
There is to be a protest at Hinkley Point on 10-11 March, more information here: http://stopnewnuclear.org.uk/. As a Somerset lad I am upset that I cannot make it...
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