Keir Starmer’s new nuclear reactors will be less dirty – but not clean.
The prime minister has announced a relaxation of planning rules to make it easier to build small nuclear power stations – small modular reactors, or SMRs – in England and Wales, saying it will create thousands of highly-skilled jobs and boost the country’s plan to have clean, secure and affordable energy.
There’s just one problem – it isn’t clean.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
Nuclear power stations create nuclear waste, that is expected to remain radioactive for around 10,000 years. The government’s way of dealing with that is to drop it down holes it drills deep into the ground and hope it won’t do any harm there. It’s all a bit too much like wishful thinking for This Writer’s liking.
The SMRs that Starmer is supporting are expected to be more efficient than the larger station the UK has used to generate 15 per cent of the nation’s power – but they will still create nuclear waste, and the government will still have to dispose of it, which means taking it out of the reactors to a designated dumping-ground.
And these stations could be built almost anywhere, under his plans.
This Writer can only hope this does not turn into the plot of the 2005 Doctor Who episode Boom Town, in which the villain of the week plans to build a nuclear power station in the centre of Cardiff, with the intention of causing a nuclear explosion there.
One would not expect anybody to be stupid enough to suggest building even a small reactor anywhere near a centre of population – but with the quality of politicians currently running the UK government, you never can tell.
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Keir Starmer’s new nuclear reactors will be less dirty – but not clean
Keir Starmer’s new nuclear reactors will be less dirty – but not clean.
The prime minister has announced a relaxation of planning rules to make it easier to build small nuclear power stations – small modular reactors, or SMRs – in England and Wales, saying it will create thousands of highly-skilled jobs and boost the country’s plan to have clean, secure and affordable energy.
There’s just one problem – it isn’t clean.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
Nuclear power stations create nuclear waste, that is expected to remain radioactive for around 10,000 years. The government’s way of dealing with that is to drop it down holes it drills deep into the ground and hope it won’t do any harm there. It’s all a bit too much like wishful thinking for This Writer’s liking.
The SMRs that Starmer is supporting are expected to be more efficient than the larger station the UK has used to generate 15 per cent of the nation’s power – but they will still create nuclear waste, and the government will still have to dispose of it, which means taking it out of the reactors to a designated dumping-ground.
And these stations could be built almost anywhere, under his plans.
This Writer can only hope this does not turn into the plot of the 2005 Doctor Who episode Boom Town, in which the villain of the week plans to build a nuclear power station in the centre of Cardiff, with the intention of causing a nuclear explosion there.
One would not expect anybody to be stupid enough to suggest building even a small reactor anywhere near a centre of population – but with the quality of politicians currently running the UK government, you never can tell.
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Follow Vox Political writer Mike Sivier on BlueSky
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
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