Photo evidence leaked to The Ecologist reveals nuclear waste storage ponds abandoned 40 years ago at the Sellafield nuclear plant in the United Kingdom. The storage ponds were commissioned in the early '50s as short-term storage for spent fuel, with the intention of recycling it into plutonium for military use. The ponds were left abandoned in the mid-'70s.
If exposed to air, the toxic fuel and sludge stored in the ponds could spontaneously ignite, spreading high-level radiation over a wide area.
The concrete used to store the toxic waste has degraded and fractured. Nuclear expert John Large warns, "If you got a breach of the wall by accident or by terrorist attack, the Magnox fuel would burn. I would say there's many hundreds of tonnes in there. It could give rise to a very big radioactive release. It's not for me to make comparisons with Chernobyl or Fukushima, but it could certainly cause serious contamination over a wide area and for a very long time."
Please sign the petition to urge the UK Office of Nuclear Regulation to make it a priority to clean up these sites and warn the public to prevent a huge nuclear disaster.
We, the undersigned, are deeply concerned about the nuclear waste storage ponds abandoned 40 years ago at the Sellafield nuclear plant in the United Kingdom. We understand that the storage ponds were commissioned in the early '50s as short-term storage for spent fuel, with the intention of recycling it into plutonium for military use. The ponds were left abandoned in the mid-'70s.
If exposed to air, the toxic fuel and sludge stored in the ponds could spontaneously ignite, spreading high-level radiation over a wide area.
The concrete used to store the toxic waste has degraded and fractured. Nuclear expert John Large warns, "If you got a breach of the wall by accident or by terrorist attack, the Magnox fuel would burn. I would say there's many hundreds of tonnes in there. It could give rise to a very big radioactive release. It's not for me to make comparisons with Chernobyl or Fukushima, but it could certainly cause serious contamination over a wide area and for a very long time."
We respectfully urge you to make it a priority to clean up these sites and warn the public to prevent a huge nuclear disaster. Thank you for taking the time to read and consider our petition.
