A combination of radioactivity and warming seas could make the waters of the Bristol Channel near the proposed Hinkley Point nuclear power station more dangerous for marine creatures, a new study has found. EDF, which will build the Somerset power station if Prime Minister Theresa May gives the green light, already has an Environment Agency permit to release water containing tritium into the seawater. Tritium is a radioactive form of hydrogen, found naturally in small doses, and at much higher levels in nuclear power stations’ cooling water. A combination of global warming and heat from the power station could magnify the harm done by radioactivity in the water around a nuclear plant, Professor Awadhesh Jha from Plymouth University said. Lab experiments, led by Prof Jha, showed that the effects of even low doses of tritium on marine mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis), increased as the water temperature rose from 15C to 25C.
Plymouth Herald 28th Aug 2016 read more »