Rochdale and Litttleborough Peace Group has welcomed the decision to stop the running of trains carrying highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel rods, from the Sizewell B plant in Suffolk to Sellafield in Cumbria, for the duration of the Olympics in 2012. However, they highlight current, ongoing and future risks, not just to Londoners, but also to people throughout North West England.
The trains which pass through the Olympic Park in London will be suspended for the duration of the Olympics, in a move long called for by anti-nuclear campaigners. However, despite this decision, the trains will return after the games are over, bringing with them the risk of an accident or terrorism contaminating anywhere on the route, including the West Coast Main Line as it passes to the west of Rochdale, Middleton and Heywood.
On behalf of the Peace Group, Philip Gilligan said,
"Of course, we welcome any plan, even a temporary one that halts the running of these potentially dangerous and deadly trains, but they present a current and ongoing danger which needs to be addressed in a permanent way, not just for the duration of the Olympic Games. These trains routinely put anyone along their route at risk, with hazards from potential accidents as well as terrorism. The Government, now, plans to build two new nuclear plants in the South East which would mean decades more of these toxic cargoes passing within metres of houses, schools and hospitals, all the way from there to Cumbria. The consequences of an incident involving the highly radioactive spent fuel rods on these trains could affect hundreds of thousands of people. This is yet another reason why dirty, dangerous and expensive nuclear power should not play any part in finding the answer to climate change."
