Today it was announced that Torness nuclear power station would remain open until 2030. The announcement wasn’t made by the Scottish Government (or even the UK Government) it was made by the French company, EDF. If ever there was a potent sign of the failure of devolution, the futile narrow nature of our putative democracy this was it. This is a massive strategic decision, and, whether you are a supporter of nuclear power or not, it’s telling that we have no control over it. “Over 3,800 nuclear safety events have been reported at 37 civil and military sites across the UK in the last 14 years, according to an official report. The UK government’s Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) has published a list of all the incidents at nuclear power and weapons plants between 2001 and 2015. They include multiple safety breaches, fires, leaks, spillages, equipment failures and workers being contaminated with radioactivity. Since 2009 the number of incidents reported every year has doubled from under 200 to over 400. There were also 286 incidents recorded at the Torness nuclear power station in East Lothian and 266 at the Hunterston nuclear power stations in North Ayrshire.
Bella Caledonia 16th Feb 2016 read more »