Following the 40th anniversary of Threads, the seminal and horrific film depicting the aftermath of a nuclear blast on Sheffield, Councillor Peter Gilbert asked,
“How does the development of the nuclear industry help Sheffield towards a nuclear-free world?”
Councillor Gilbert’s question followed remarks by South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard where he welcomed the announcement that components for small modular nuclear reactors would be manufactured in Sheffield (1) . Speaking after the October Council meeting, Councillor Gilbert said,
“I am disappointed that Labour is backing dangerous and expensive nuclear energy when there are so many cheaper and more benign alternatives.
“The waste produced by nuclear energy remains radioactive for thousands of years and storage of this waste is an expensive issue with no long term solution. There are ongoing issues with storage at the Sellafield site which are just one example of the difficulties in managing this toxic waste. (2)
“Nuclear is the most expensive way of generating electricity in the UK, and we will be paying for this in our energy bills for years to come. Both the International Energy Agency and the Nuclear Energy Agency have confirmed this. Hinckley C is going to cost £24.5 Billion with a further 10 nuclear sites planned (3). A much better use of these funds would be to invest in super insulating people’s homes so they are warm and cheap to heat. We need a plan to invest significantly in retrofitting our homes to make them more energy efficient and reduce carbon emissions and our energy bills.
“We know climate change is happening now, but nuclear energy plants are far too slow to get on line. Hinckley C was announced in 2010 but won’t come on line till 2027 at the earliest (4). By contrast renewables and insulation schemes can be up and running relatively quickly.
“Those who argue that renewable energy isn’t a solution because it only works when the sun shines or when the wind blows are behind the times. Energy storage has come on leaps and bounds and is used on a small scale in people’s own homes and linked to large wind and solar farms.
“If we want a safer world we need to ditch nuclear energy. The technology used to process enriched uranium is the same as that used to make nuclear weapons. The strong links between the nuclear industry and the production of nuclear weapons is well documented. If we want to end the nuclear proliferation that ends in a nightmare like ‘Threads’ we need to work towards a nuclear free world.” (5)
References
1 – News – South Yorkshire MCA (southyorkshire-ca.gov.uk)
2 – Revealed: Sellafield nuclear site has leak that could pose risk to public | Energy industry | The Guardian
3 – New nuclear power in UK would be the world’s most costly, says report – Carbon Brief
4 – New nuclear power in UK would be the world’s most costly, says report – Carbon Brief
5 – The links between nuclear power and nuclear weapons – CND (cnduk.org)
