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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/oct/02/hinkley-point-c-nuclear-mud-case-dropped-after-debate-secured
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| Hinkley Point C 'nuclear mud' case dropped after debate secured | Hinkley Point C 'nuclear mud' case dropped after debate secured |
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| The Welsh assembly is to debate the dumping of “nuclear mud” in the sea close to Cardiff after an eclectic group of scientists, surfers and a pop star threatened legal action over the practice. | The Welsh assembly is to debate the dumping of “nuclear mud” in the sea close to Cardiff after an eclectic group of scientists, surfers and a pop star threatened legal action over the practice. |
| Cian Ciarán, the keyboard player from Super Furry Animals, had been due in court on Tuesday to argue in favour of an injunction to halt the disposal of mud excavated from the construction site of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in Somerset. | Cian Ciarán, the keyboard player from Super Furry Animals, had been due in court on Tuesday to argue in favour of an injunction to halt the disposal of mud excavated from the construction site of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in Somerset. |
| But the legal action was discontinued and a planned protest outside the court was called off at the last minute when a full debate on the issue was secured. | But the legal action was discontinued and a planned protest outside the court was called off at the last minute when a full debate on the issue was secured. |
| There is growing concern and anger that 300,000 tonnes of sediment from the Hinkley Point C site is being disposed of at Cardiff Grounds, a sandbank a mile and half from the Welsh capital. | |
| Campaigners claim the mud has not been tested properly and could contain particles that may pose a health risk. They have described the sediment as “nuclear mud” and nicknamed the sea off Cardiff “Geiger Bay”, a play on Tiger Bay, the old slang name for the city’s docklands. One of their main concerns is that the sediment could be washed ashore in a storm. | Campaigners claim the mud has not been tested properly and could contain particles that may pose a health risk. They have described the sediment as “nuclear mud” and nicknamed the sea off Cardiff “Geiger Bay”, a play on Tiger Bay, the old slang name for the city’s docklands. One of their main concerns is that the sediment could be washed ashore in a storm. |
| Shortly before the case at Cardiff civil and family justice centre was due to begin, it emerged that the legal action had been discontinued after a debate at the assembly next week was secured. It is understood that a joint motion has been put forward by Plaid Cymru and the Conservatives. | |
| Neil McEvoy, an independent assembly member, tweeted: “Friends, please note that there will be no protest at court today. We have discontinued the legal challenge after gaining an assembly debate on 10 October that could stop the #GeigerBay dump, through a @Plaid_Cymru & Conservatives joint motion.” | Neil McEvoy, an independent assembly member, tweeted: “Friends, please note that there will be no protest at court today. We have discontinued the legal challenge after gaining an assembly debate on 10 October that could stop the #GeigerBay dump, through a @Plaid_Cymru & Conservatives joint motion.” |
| McEvoy has accused the Labour-led Welsh government of being out of touch on the issue. He has called for boat owners to form a “people’s flotilla” to take direct action and blockade Cardiff Grounds, and he has boarded a barge disposing of the mud to try to block the operation. | McEvoy has accused the Labour-led Welsh government of being out of touch on the issue. He has called for boat owners to form a “people’s flotilla” to take direct action and blockade Cardiff Grounds, and he has boarded a barge disposing of the mud to try to block the operation. |
| EDF Energy, which is building Hinkley Point C on the English side of the Bristol Channel, has insisted the mud is safe, as have the Welsh government and Natural Resources Wales (NRW). | EDF Energy, which is building Hinkley Point C on the English side of the Bristol Channel, has insisted the mud is safe, as have the Welsh government and Natural Resources Wales (NRW). |
| EDF said the mud was tested by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), an executive agency of the UK government, in 2009, 2013 and 2017 and the levels of radioactivity were found to be so low that they could be classed as “not radioactive” under British law. | EDF said the mud was tested by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), an executive agency of the UK government, in 2009, 2013 and 2017 and the levels of radioactivity were found to be so low that they could be classed as “not radioactive” under British law. |
| A spokesman said the decision to drop the case was “good news for a project that is vital for the UK’s energy future and provides work for 25 Welsh companies and 1,000 Welsh workers”. | A spokesman said the decision to drop the case was “good news for a project that is vital for the UK’s energy future and provides work for 25 Welsh companies and 1,000 Welsh workers”. |
| He added: “EDF did everything that it was requested to do when it applied for a licence to dredge and deposit mud in the Severn estuary. The mud is no different to mud found anywhere else up and down the coast and it has been thoroughly tested by independent experts who confirmed it poses no threat to human health or the environment.” | He added: “EDF did everything that it was requested to do when it applied for a licence to dredge and deposit mud in the Severn estuary. The mud is no different to mud found anywhere else up and down the coast and it has been thoroughly tested by independent experts who confirmed it poses no threat to human health or the environment.” |
| EDF says it is dredging mud and sediment from the seabed ahead of the drilling of six vertical shafts for the cooling water system. It says Cardiff Grounds is the only suitable site large enough to handle the amount of the type of sediment it is dredging. | EDF says it is dredging mud and sediment from the seabed ahead of the drilling of six vertical shafts for the cooling water system. It says Cardiff Grounds is the only suitable site large enough to handle the amount of the type of sediment it is dredging. |
| Ciarán told the Guardian at the weekend: “I’m involved as a Welshman and a concerned earthling. I felt compelled to play a part. I felt at a loss over the lack of action by the Welsh Labour government and the apathy of NRW. This is about reasonable people asking reasonable questions.” | Ciarán told the Guardian at the weekend: “I’m involved as a Welshman and a concerned earthling. I felt compelled to play a part. I felt at a loss over the lack of action by the Welsh Labour government and the apathy of NRW. This is about reasonable people asking reasonable questions.” |
| He said he had been out to Cardiff Grounds to view the mud dumping at close hand. “I felt angry, saddened, desperate. Potentially it’s causing irreversible harm,” he said. | He said he had been out to Cardiff Grounds to view the mud dumping at close hand. “I felt angry, saddened, desperate. Potentially it’s causing irreversible harm,” he said. |
| A Welsh government spokesman said: “All tests and assessments concluded the material is within safe limits, poses no radiological risk to human health or the environment and is safe and suitable to be disposed of at sea.” | A Welsh government spokesman said: “All tests and assessments concluded the material is within safe limits, poses no radiological risk to human health or the environment and is safe and suitable to be disposed of at sea.” |
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