Lewes MP and Lib Dem Environment spokesman Norman Baker has taken the fight to preserve Britain's coastlines to the House of Commons. In response to proposals dump Britain's burgeoning fleet of decommissioned nuclear submarines in environmentally-sensitive coastal areas, Norman and fellow Lib Dem MPs have tabled a Commons motion urging the Government to take tougher action in order to safeguard such coastlines. Should such proposals be approved, the Ministry of Defence would be allowed to store the hulks of decommissioned Royal Navy submarines - including their long-life nuclear cores - in some of the countries most pristine wilderness regions including Scotland's famous Mull of Kintyre.
Speaking about his motion, Norman comments:
"This country is facing an increasing crisis in safely dealing with the rising volume of high-level radioactive waste generated not only by the civil sector by also by the military as more Royal Navy Nuclear Submarines are decommissioned without adequate provision being made for their safe long-term storage.
"Currently, many already decommissioned submarines are simply sitting in naval bases whilst the Government struggles to find a solution to the problem of safely disposing of their nuclear cores. With even more scheduled for decommissioning over the coming decades I am extremely concerned about the environmental implications of proposals to simply dump these toxic timebombs in wilderness areas which may be far away from large population centres but which will threaten some of our most pristine and unspoilt coastline such as the Mull of Kintyre.
"The government has been floundering around in trying to find a satisfactory solution to Britain's nuclear waste storage problem for far too long. They must now take firm action to resolve it and furthermore to ensure that precious coastal areas such as the Mull of Kintyre do not become a dumping ground for its nuclear waste."
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EDM 969 - MOD NUCLEAR SUBMARINES AND PROJECT ISOLUS
That this House notes with concern that the volume of high level radioactive waste has increased six per cent. since 1997 and that the total volume of high and intermediate level radioactive waste is due to increase to nearly 150,000 cubic metres by 2030; further notes the specific problems which have arisen from the decommissioning of the Royal Navy's nuclear submarines; welcomes the work of the ISOLUS project at Lancaster University to identify options for the safe management of radioactive waste products from submarines; notes that since 1990, 11 nuclear-powered submarines have been decommissioned and are stored afloat in Rosyth Dockyard and HMNB Devonport and that by 2040 there will be 27 decommissioned submarines which will require permanent storage of their nuclear waste; calls on the Secretary of State for Defence to immediately release the list of sites which are being considered by his Department for storing radioactive waste as part of project ISOLUS; and calls on the Government immediately to rule out the possibility of using the RAF base at Machrihanish near the Mull of Kintyre.
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