Killer Nuclear waste in Birmingham?
Nov 9 2010 by Paul Suart, Birmingham Mail
“If that’s what they are doing then we need to know who authorised it.
“It would certainly merit an inquiry to explain who authorised this and how long it’s been going on in residential areas and in secret.
“Somebody must have authorised it and I’d like to know who.”
The Labour minister also said he would raise the issue in parliament.
Mr Harte, aged 42, from Bournville, is adamant the carriage he pictured leaving the station at about 1.30pm last Thursday was carrying nuclear waste.
“They are quite distinctive,” he said. I’m no expert but you could tell what it was when you compare it to other pictures of nuclear trains.
“They usually have single or double carriages and are always held by two locomotives in case one breaks.
“There’s potential for radiation leaks. It’s quite worrying.
“It would be useful for residents to know if these things were regularly travelling through Birmingham and how exposed they might be.
“People have a right to know.”
The Birmingham Mail asked the Department of Transport to confirm if the train was carrying nuclear waste, where it was travelling from and to, or if it was diverted through Birmingham as a one-off.
A Department of Transport spokesman said: “We are not aware of any movement along the lines suggested.” According to timetables compiled by Greenpeace, nuclear waste trains do leave Hinkley Point, Somerset, for Crewe in Cheshire, but should not enter Birmingham.
The closest they should come to the city is stations at Worcester, Droitwich and Kidderminster.
Campaign
GREEN campaigners hit the headlines in Germany after mass protests over nuclear waste transportation.
Campaigners bunjee-jumped 250ft off a bridge to leave themselves dangling in mid-air and blocking train tracks.
They pulled the stunt to delay a train hauling nuclear waste to a storage site in northern Germany on Sunday, in protest at the continued haulage of nuclear waste along the country’s rail network.
The UK is one of the world’s busiest transporters of radioactive material, and trains have passed through the West Midlands in the past.
In 2006 it emerged that trains carrying waste from nuclear power plants passed railway stations at Barnt Green, Kings Norton, Kings Heath, Moseley, Saltley and Washwood Heath at least once a week.
And it was also claimed that military convoys carrying warheads passed within ten miles of Birmingham along the M40, M42, M5 and M6 motorways around six times a year.
What do you think? Have your say by clicking Log In or Register below to comment on the story.
