Author: Martyn

A Little Light Reading.

Never let it be said that what I tend to read is frivolous in nature.

Well that’s what happens when one engages in serious campaigning work.

Yet needs must, as it is alleged they say.

So here are a couple of reports which I’ve been reading of late.

Civil Nuclear Police Authority Annual Report & Accounts 2016/17

That’s the body which runs the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, which describes itself as an Armed Force.

The report was published on July 19th, and makes for some fascinating reading.

Aside from a lot of statistical, financial, and pension payments data – 

It lists the following Key Facts :-

– The CNC has over 1080 Authorised Firearms Officers.

– It operates in 10 nukiller sites within the UK,  but not Capenhurst, Chapelcross, Springfields, or Wylfa.

&

– It has a budget which is over £100 Million.

Here is the line in the report which I like the best: –

‘We are capable of carrying out our duties in a flexible and dynamic way, instilling in ourselves a clear sense of purpose.

If we use force we do so in a manner proportionate to the threat, recognising and upholding the principles enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights.’

Thus the next time you are confronted by any armed member of the CNC – you can be assured that they will of read the convention, and will act with all of its provisions in mind – – – or so it is alleged to be that way.

So now you know.

Nukiller particles

This is the other really interesting report which every anti-nukiller -power activist should download and read.

Particles in the Environment   Annual Report for 2015/16 and Forward Programme

This is a report which has been published by sellafield Ltd.

It is the one in which they show the amount of radioactive particles which they have detected along the coast of Cumbria.

Though those are just what they have managed to find in their sampling.

 

Thinking About What Follows on.

Warnings.

One of my favourite ways of referring to both Politicians and managers is that they work it out as they go along.

Yet a little brush with reality, or the realisation that what they want to do will get them in to a lot of trouble, might well get them worrying about getting the sack, or loosing a lot of votes for doing so.

Though many a manager or politician are so shielded from the real world, or do not socialise outside of their own class or social milieu, that they no idea about the social, economic, or environmental damage which they might do.

That’s why a lot of political campaigning comes down to showing just what will happen if various policies are enacted.

Thus a lot of anti-nukiller power campaigning comes down to researching about, and warning individuals what might happen if such various whizzo projects comes in to being.

Such a project is the proposed new coal mine plan for Cumbria

That’s why I think that all such proposals should have a check list of environmental problems which come with them as a matter of form.

Much in the same way what packets of chalk should carry a warning that criminal damage charges may result if they are used on pavements or walls.

Giving out the warnings.

Yet all this research and protesting will not be enough without being able to finance all the travel which is involved in this campaigning work, and the protests which go with it.

Or are there enough people who can undertake all the leafleting which needs to be done in order to get the message out to people.

Which comes down to a problem which faces us all the time.

Unlike in Belgium, France, Germany, or the Netherlands,

we just don’t have the thousands, never mind the hundreds of people who will come out to demonstrate.

We tend to think that an event is very well attended if 12 to 20 people turn up to it.

Though the experience of solo leafleting, or maybe as a group of 2, 3, 4, 5, or six activists on a leafleting session or picket is very much the norm.

That’s why we need to develop more co-ordinated local protests or leafleting sessions about the nukiller waste trains which go through the UK.

As a part of this we have established Working Alliance.

Yet we still come down to one major problem, and that is the high cost of getting to so any of the many different nukiller plants which are scattered throughout Cumbria & the NW.

This July there will be another leafleting session at the DRS nukiller waste trains depot in Carlisle, while in October there will be a couple of events to mark 60 years since the Windscale fire in .

That’s aside from all the ongoing work which needs to be done in order to raise public awareness about Capenhurst, Drigg, & Springfields.

Thus this appeal.

If you think this work is worth while, but can not involve yourself it, then please do make a fiscal contribution to either the Close Capenhurst Campaign, or Radiation Free Lakeland.

Treading Time.

There are times when there is a lot going on, and visa versa.

We are now in the middle of a period when there are lots of changes occurring, but very little is really taking place.

To sum it all up.

What we now have is a political and constitutional crisis, which has or is producing a major economic crisis.

All of which is tied up with the uncertainties which come with the threat of Brexit.

Thus the economy is on hold.

It is neither a Bull or Bear Market, but one in which the word is Wait & See.

Yet that does not mean we all need to be treading time, as there are so many issues which need dealing with right now, or within the immediate future.

Next – – –

There are a lot of individuals who think that many issues can be solved by ‘one big push’, or the creation of yet another national campaign or campaigning body.

Not so !

The only way I know we can change things for the better is by long term campaigning, and not constantly focusing upon what is the immediate crisis.

What this means for me is focusing upon a number of related issues, but making sure that I’m up to date on all of the various crisis which are going on at present.

It’s all a form of treading time until the moment is right to take action, but it would be good if there were a few more activists who think in the same way.

The Unworkable Proposed Merger of MOD Plod, The CNC, and BTP

A Unique force.

There is one aspect about the Civil Nuclear Constabulary [ CNC ] which we should always state whenever we write or talk about them.

The CNC refer to themselves as an Armed Force.

They are financed by the nukiller power companies and have very close links with the MOD.

They no longer guard all nukiller instillations such as Capenhurst or Springfields.

They do not guard the nukiller waste trains which pass through our city centres, and neither does the British Transport police [ BTP ] .

Yet the CNC do have powers of arrest, with no public accountability about the way they operate.

An Unworkable Proposal

Yet again the bright idea of merging the CNC, MOD Plod , and the BTP to protect nuclear sites and transport links is being touted by the Tory party.

This is an idea which has been around for a long time, but was ruled out the last time it came up a few years back.

Just consider this:-

– 95% of the BTP funding comes from Britain’s privatised train companies.

– While part of the CNC is funded by the nukiller energy companies,

&

– MOD plod is a part of the MOD.

So just who would land up paying for such a combined force would make for some very interesting negotiations.

That’s aside from just what the various companies might have a say in how such a new body might be controlled.

or

If it might be liable to any form of public accountability.

Never mind their different types of ‘training and operational needs’.

Differences in pay and remuneration.

There are also variations between MOD plod, The CNC, the BTP which would cause a number of other problems should such merger go ahead.

All three of them have very different pay structures, terms of employment, and retirement schemes.

What is really needed

Thus I just can’t see how any such proposed merger might be workable.

Though there is an urgent need to initiate a public outcry about the way the CNC operates, and just how we might better safeguard all the nukiller waste sites way in to the future.

Being Time Rich & Working Ahead To Stay Time Rich

Being and staying Time Rich.

Here is an observation which should be remembered about what happens to everyone who is retired.

First of all one has more time as a result of not going to work.

Yet if one is interested in what’s going on in the world, and engaged in making social change, the the following will hold true: –

‘ I just don’t know how there was time for me to go to work.’

I know this to be so, as it was a case of my switching from a page per week to a day per page diary.

Though here comes a tip to anyone who’s about to retire –

Go food shopping every day as you will be eating really fresh food, and can use the sale bargains on items you use all the time.

You will also get out of the house that way, and get the walking exercise which everyone needs to do.

The Wrong Answer.

The other advantage of retirement is that one can work on projects / plan / work on events way in advance.

Being time rich also means I am able to read a lot of newspapers, and reports which relate to the campaigning work I’m engaged upon.

So when I ask a specific question about some issue or other, then it’s because it really does need to be addressed.

That said, one will constantly hear the following from those who are still at work:- ‘ I’m too busy to do [ or answer ] that right now. ‘

That’s known as the Wrong Answer, as it slows down the work of those of us who are time rich.

This is especially so if it’s a case of asking for the same thing time and time and time again.

It also means that those who keep saying ‘ I’m too busy’ will never get the potential help they need, or ever see the various projects which they are involved in move forward at a faster speed.

Thinking Ahead – Planning Ahead.

The things one learns you get older, is that there are always last moment problems, or changes which need to be made at the very last moment.

Many of these come about because of changing circumstances, last moment emergencies, etc.

Yet a lot of them are the result of not being able to do any medium to long term planning, or thinking about alternative options way in advance of events.

Right now I’m look at and working up events some 3 months to 5 years in to the future.

For example: – What we can all do about marking 60 years since the Windscale fire this October.

So just keep all of this in mind, as it could well work to your advantage.

New DRS Train Engine Names, Or Prometheus 88 ?

DRS is best know as the wholly owned subsidiary of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), which hauls radioactive waste along the British railways network.

Direct Rail Services [ DRS ] are getting new class 88 engines.

The current issue of the Railway Magazine lists some of the names which these new engines are being given.

They include Genesis, Pandora, and Prometheus.

Prometheus was the Greek god who who stole fire from Mount Olympus and gave it to mankind.

There is another reason why this name is so apt: –

The Promethus Crisis.

That is the title of a 1976 novel by Thomas N. Scortia, & Frank M. Robinson, which is all about a melt down in a nukiller reactor.

Short Term – Long Term

We are now living through that what is an interesting and highly frightening political period.

Just two words sum up many of the problems we are up against:- Brexit and Thrump.

Yet we do need to look at what else is happening in the world, and start thinking beyond the next decade.

Here are just a few of these long term issues summed up in five headlines:-

‘Extraordinary’ levels of pollutants found in 10km deep Mariana trench.

What The New Fukushima Unit 2 Inspection May Indicate.

U.K. nuclear safety regulations place too low a value on human life.

7 million premature deaths annually linked to air pollution.

Analysis of “Scientists have just detected a major change to the Earth’s oceans linked to a warming climate”.

What worries me is how a lot of people concentrate upon very short term issues, and think about political action[s] in a very seasonal way.

While what is really needed is some long term day by week by month by year by decades long hard slog campaigning, and some major life style changes.

Radioactive Waste – A New Policy In The Making ?

What ever happened to the proposal to create a new Interim radioactive waste site for the UK ?

Some years ago there was a lot of proposals being make about just where this might be, but one by one all of these proposals seem of been quietly forgotten.

Though we still keep reading references to this idea on many government and nukiller industry documents.

My suspicion is that there is a new ground plan in place as to how this radioactive waste might be stored.

Here in a few news headline is why I suspect this is what might well be going on.

Chapelcross nuclear waste storage facility size increase approved.

Ministry of Defence chooses Capenhurst to store nuclear submarine waste

Routes nuclear waste from other power plants will travel to Bradwell revealed

‘ The intermediate level waste, which would come from Sizewell in Suffolk and Dungeness in Kent, typically consists of sludge, sand, gravel and metal.

Then we have last years Cumbria County Council decision to allow more waste to be stored at Drigg.

The key point to keep in mind is that these sites have existing NUCLEAR SITE LICENCES.

There is also a lot more room at Springfields to store such waste, or at Capenhurst for all the existing waste which will result when the existing Royal Navy nukiller powered submarines are decommissioned.

Then there will be all of the radioactive reactors which will come from the now being built Astute-class submarines.

As Sellafield is going to take over 100 years to clean up, with not much room for more waste, then we may well be seeing the start of a new and unannounced radioactive waste storage policy coming in to existence.

 

Thinking About Self Education

I have never wanted to be an ‘expert’ or specialist in any shape or form.

All I’ve ever wanted to be is a good All Rounder.

Thus I have focused all of my self education activities.to that end.

That includes what I might read, or viewed in the many museums and art galleries which I visited over the years.

Such visits are also my idea of fun.

In my younger days I was lucky enough to pay ahort visis to such places at the British Museum, National Gallery, and National Portrait Gallery during my lunch breaks.
Plus spend my time browsing within both radical bookshops, and all the ones along the Charing Cross Road.

Spending much of my life working within libraries has also contributed towards my self education.

I also enjoy public talks on the few occasions when they occur.

Understand all of that and you will get a good idea about how my thinking goes.

Now that I’m retired I would of liked to spend some of my time in undertaking an adult education course. Though that has become much more difficult to do as many of these day courses have been cut, while I’m spending a lot of my time engaged in Campaigning activities.

Museums, Art Galleries, and Libraries are essential if we wish to create a very knowledgeable society.

Every cut to them is something which harms us all.

This needs to be said time & time & time again.

Radioactive Toshing

Toshing

The go ahead has just been given to store radioactive sludge, sand,  metal,  and  gravel at Bradwell.

This radioactive tosh will come from the Dungeness & Sizewell reactors.

It will be taken by Road to Bradwell from the railway station at Southminster.

Which Rail Routes ?

What this news story does not mention is which routes this waste will be transported to Southminster.

Yet we can work out some of this from the routes upon which used nukiller fuel rods are transported to Sellafield.

Sizewell.

All the used fuel rods from Sizewell are transported by road to Saxmunden, & then south via Shenfield.

There is a line from Shenfield to Southminster.

So that should be the logical route which it will take.

Dungeness.

All the used fuel rods from Dungeness are taken by train via Appledore, then on via Ashford International to Crewe, and so on to Sellafield.

Now comes the interesting questions.

Which route will be used to carry this waste ?

The line to Shenfield goes via Stratford, but which route will be used from Ashford to Stratford ?

&

At which point will it cross the Thames ?

What kind of containers ?

Of course we do not know exactly what levels of radioactivity this waste will be emitting, or Just how much of it there will be.

So we can only speculate about just which kind of containers it will be transported in, and just how many months or years it will take.

How long will it be stored ?

The other unspoken question is just how long it is intended to store this muck at Bradwell.

Could it be that this will become the back door way of creating a long term Low and intermediate level radioactive waste depositary for the UK ?

Though that will not work, as Bradwell, Dungeness, and Sizewell are going to be effected by rising sea levels.