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DavidofMersea

DavidofMersea

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Is this to be taken seriously or is it just ill informed hysteria from Baang :-

If you do not know about this it is because there has been no proper public consultation. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and Magnox are proposing to start radioactive discharges at the old Bradwell nuclear power station into the Blackwater Estuary and into the atmosphere, once a day for 18 months.

THESE DISCHARGES ARE IMMINENT.

The discharges will result from a new, untested and accelerated process to dissolve fuel element debris (FED), which is an intermediate-level radioactive waste, in order to reduce its volume. This is unnecessary as there are other ways of storing this waste. BANNG considers these discharges are an offence to the environment. Many serious issues have been raised by this proposal and they have not been sufficiently addressed by the agencies. BANNG has asked the NDA and Magnox to halt the discharges and for an independent assessment of the impacts to be undertaken.

12 years after the cessation of nuclear operations at Bradwell and with decommissioning, the communities of the Blackwater expected that the days of radioactive discharges into their environment were over.
 
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They have crews working on the discharge pipes all winter. They were blocked with mud. Told me yesterday that they would be finished in a couple of weeks. Get our car park back.

I agree that new processes need to be evaluated but they wouldn't be able to do this without a licence from the EA surely. Not that the EA are covered in glory.
 
MoodySabre said:
They have crews working on the discharge pipes all winter. They were blocked with mud. Told me yesterday that they would be finished in a couple of weeks. Get our car park back.

I agree that new processes need to be evaluated but they wouldn't be able to do this without a licence from the EA surely. Not that the EA are covered in glory.
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Baang says the process is untested, and I am not sure how they can know that. Baang also say "Many serious issues have been raised by this proposal and they have not been sufficiently addressed by the agencies" which seems to be a criticism, without saying what that criticism is
 
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Much of BAANG's outrage is caused by lack of information and the half truths and urban myths that come in to plug the gap and get accepted as fact. The discharge is Tritium - an isotope of hydrogen. Much is known about Tritium - so it's hardly untested and unresearched. Tritium occurs naturally to a certain extent and there are even acceptable levels laid down for drinking water in some countries. Contact is harmless, and the dangers are inhalation or ingestion in quantity - unlikely even if you fall into the Blackwater.

The local paper this week has a two page spread on BAANG's objections to a new nuclear power station at Bradwell implying that a Fukushima-like disaster could occur. Firstly the Japanese reactor design was of a 1960s vintage and the current new reactors being considered are vastly different. Secondly, the BAANG spokesman talks of ‘serious risks of dangerous flooding’ at Bradwell as if this equated to a tsunami triggered by an undersea earthquake of magnitude 9 on the Richter scale. And disastrous and awful as it was, "No discernible increased incidence of radiation-related health effects are expected among exposed members of the public or their descendants," said a recent report on the outcome of the Fukushima disaster by the UN who are probably better informed than BAANG.
All you have to do is wave the anti nuclear flag - however shaky your facts - and you can frighten the public. Amd that is exactly what BAANG is doing. Their ignorance is generating fear amongst themselves and they are passing that on and creating hysteria. But even then when faced with the facts they will say 'the Government and the evil masterminds of the nuclear industry are lying to you'. Can't say the imminent holocaust has affected the stiff upper lips at the Green Man although if you are in Bradwell Marina it might be just as well to shut the hatch to avoid all the c**p in the air.
 
Strange that all this hysteria has absolutely no effect upon the desire to mutilate the upper reaches of the Blackwater (ie Maldon and Heybridge) with up to 3000 houses and attendant inhabitants who would of course be 'vulnerable' to this nuclear risk.

Maybe the nuclear 'threat' is a way of stopping the development of Maldon into a another Chelmsford/Colchester size conurbation. If so then I am all for it.

Lets leave the existing power station buildings for us sailors who need a landmark to make a landfall with on the east coast.
Happy to have a new one also so I can keep the lights and PC on, and find out what's going on on this forum.

Oh feel better for that........... rant over.
 
Burnham Bob said:
Much of BAANG's outrage is caused by lack of information and the half truths and urban myths that come in to plug the gap and get accepted as fact. The discharge is Tritium - an isotope of hydrogen. Much is known about Tritium - so it's hardly untested and unresearched. Tritium occurs naturally to a certain extent and there are even acceptable levels laid down for drinking water in some countries. Contact is harmless, and the dangers are inhalation or ingestion in quantity - unlikely even if you fall into the Blackwater.

The local paper this week has a two page spread on BAANG's objections to a new nuclear power station at Bradwell implying that a Fukushima-like disaster could occur. Firstly the Japanese reactor design was of a 1960s vintage and the current new reactors being considered are vastly different. Secondly, the BAANG spokesman talks of ‘serious risks of dangerous flooding’ at Bradwell as if this equated to a tsunami triggered by an undersea earthquake of magnitude 9 on the Richter scale. And disastrous and awful as it was, "No discernible increased incidence of radiation-related health effects are expected among exposed members of the public or their descendants," said a recent report on the outcome of the Fukushima disaster by the UN who are probably better informed than BAANG.
All you have to do is wave the anti nuclear flag - however shaky your facts - and you can frighten the public. Amd that is exactly what BAANG is doing. Their ignorance is generating fear amongst themselves and they are passing that on and creating hysteria. But even then when faced with the facts they will say 'the Government and the evil masterminds of the nuclear industry are lying to you'. Can't say the imminent holocaust has affected the stiff upper lips at the Green Man although if you are in Bradwell Marina it might be just as well to shut the hatch to avoid all the c**p in the air.
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Like many others, I know nothing about the Nuclear industry, but a member of the team doing the decommissioning team said that the amount of radioactivity being discharged is minimal and he pointed out that he, his colleagues and their families live within the area, so clearly they will not endanger themselves and their families

If the decommissioning people are happy to live in Bradwell and Andy and Varrie Blowers (The Chairman and Secretary of BAANG) are happy to live on Mersea beach in Shears Court, I am happy to live on Kingsland Beach - I can't see the problem.
 
There isn't a problem but 'wind good nuclear bad' is an easy mantra that can be used to whip up fears without facts being available. Maybe if the Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace had been a little less prejudiced against nuclear power, we might not have lost our world leading position on the peaceful use of nuclear power. As it is, we're dependent on the chinese to build the next generation of nuclear reactors whereas our closest neighbour France gets 75% of its power from nuclear installations - with no greenhouse gas emissions. And nuclear feeling is so ingrained that the BAANG opposition to the Tritium discharge gets schoolkids out with banners for the tv cameras at the drop of a hat.
 
Burnham Bob said:
And nuclear feeling is so ingrained that the BAANG opposition to the Tritium discharge gets schoolkids out with banners for the tv cameras at the drop of a hat.
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Long ago, when I was at school the teachers were strictly forbidden from expressing political views and/or creating protest groups. Now it seems that teachers who know as little as I do (which is very little) about nuclear power generation can pass disinformation onto the kids
 
Can I assume that swimming next to the outfall whilst they are discharging is 100% safe ? I wonder if someone from the nuclear industry or decommissioning team would care to prove this.. All I need is proof and I'm happy.. Not a lot to ask for is it ?
 
ImSteve said:
Can I assume that swimming next to the outfall whilst they are discharging is 100% safe ? I wonder if someone from the nuclear industry or decommissioning team would care to prove this.. All I need is proof and I'm happy.. Not a lot to ask for is it ?
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Andy Blowers and his wife (Chairman and secretary of BAANG) swim off the Mersea beach, so it must be OK. I just remembered it is them that say that it is dangerous
 
Brightlingsea Beach gets the blue flag award at the moment. Not sure I'd like to swim near Bradwell anyway with all those boats using their sea toilets. Would anyone be swimming near the outlet in the normal course of water sports? So a swim would be simply a PR stunt like John Selwyn Gummer feeding his kids beefburgers druing the BSE scare. Maybe someone should suggest it to Magnox - it would get lots of coverage in the local rag.
 
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Burnham Bob said:
Not sure I'd like to swim near Bradwell anyway with all those boats using their sea toilets. Would anyone be swimming near the outlet in the normal course of water sports?
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Last May I watched part of an Iron Man competition hosted at Bradwell which included a swim. It was repeated last weekend http://www.triathlon.co.uk/events/big-east-triathlon

I didnt see Mr Phoenix of Hamble - there again I dont think anyone has in a while.
 
Just to get the other side of BANNG's arguments, I actually contacted Magnox. This is what they said was their reply........

"Magnox has been engaged with local stakeholders on its proposals for treating Fuel Element Debris - FED - as part of the work to decommission the site for a number of years. The process, which is based on the safe and successful dissolution experience elsewhere, will reduce the volume of FED by more than 90 per cent. The dissolved metal will be treated and a solid waste will be retained on the site. The remaining effluent will be discharged within authorised limits agreed by the Environment Agency. Discharges to the estuary within agreed safe limits have been taking place regularly for more than 50 years and are continuing as the site is decommissioned.

“Magnox is sensitive to the local environments in which it operates and is committed to decommissioning Bradwell with the highest regard to safety and the environment. Our work programme is fully compliant with regulatory requirements and we will ensure that it remains so as clean-up of the site continues. Regulators undertake regular monitoring and publish the information online.”

So what BAANG have hit the headlines on - the waste into the estuary - has been going on for 50 years and the powers that be are monitoring the process regularly so the schoolchildren waving banners was a stunt with no basis in reality. Mind you in typical X Files fashion, I;m sure BAANG will claim 'they are lying to you'.
 
DavidofMersea said:
Is this to be taken seriously or is it just ill informed hysteria from Baang :-

If you do not know about this it is because there has been no proper public consultation. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and Magnox are proposing to start radioactive discharges at the old Bradwell nuclear power station into the Blackwater Estuary and into the atmosphere, once a day for 18 months.

THESE DISCHARGES ARE IMMINENT.

The discharges will result from a new, untested and accelerated process to dissolve fuel element debris (FED), which is an intermediate-level radioactive waste, in order to reduce its volume. This is unnecessary as there are other ways of storing this waste. BANNG considers these discharges are an offence to the environment. Many serious issues have been raised by this proposal and they have not been sufficiently addressed by the agencies. BANNG has asked the NDA and Magnox to halt the discharges and for an independent assessment of the impacts to be undertaken.

12 years after the cessation of nuclear operations at Bradwell and with decommissioning, the communities of the Blackwater expected that the days of radioactive discharges into their environment were over.
Click to expand...

Who or what is BAANG? I live near Sizewell and have heard of quite a few organisations but not this one.
 
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Seashoreman said:
I dont think they have any worries about having a Nuclear Power Station there surely? Maybe they should be called BACkofF (Bradwell Against Coal Fired)? Are there plans to replace this generator? Only curious and quite rightly I should do my own enquiries.
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The site next to the present decommissioned power station is on the governments short list for a new nuclear power station, which is why BANNG was formed. I understand that Maldon council are supporting the proposal to build the new nuclear power station at Bradwell
 
Seashoreman - there is a lot of local support for a new nuclear power station. We need jobs in this part of the world and the vast majority of people here know someone who worked at the old station, and have been used to it for virtually all their life. BANNG is a local pressure group led by a vociferous minority who are opposed to nuclear power in any shape or form. However, they are fighting against BATTLE (they are the people campaigning against wind farms).
Whatever you propose around here someone is against it. When we got a tesco convenience store in the middle of town on the site of a derelict petrol station, there was a huge outcry from the 'keep burnham bijou' movement that got huge coverage claiming 'the people of burnham don't want a tesco'. When you go in its always heaving so they can't be the people of Burnham..........
There must be something in the air that makes people prone to establishing single interest groups that ignore any other viewpoint. and the local paper is so short of news that anyone with a grudge can get coverage. recent ones include a tattooed woman who objects to the local Co-op checking her ID when she buys booze and a while back a woman who wanted to let off several hundred helium balloons as a memorial to a toddler and who was incensed that Maldon District Council thought it was environmentally unfriendly.
apart from that, its a nice place to live..............
 
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