NI invited to become Britains Nuclear Toilet

[earl]

Councils in Northern Ireland are being invited to offer sites for the burial of nuclear waste.

Environment Secretary Hilary Benn wants local authorities across the UK to consider providing what he called an essential service to the nation.

Mr Benn said the sites would be high tech and could provide significant economic benefits.

Any council in Northern Ireland responding to the invitation has been told to contact the DoE.

"The issue of how we manage higher activity radioactive waste in the long term has been considered by successive governments.

"Geological disposal is the internationally preferred approach for managing such waste," Mr Benn said.

He said the government would sit down and discuss with any community with an interest, the technical aspects of geological disposal and the wider social, economic and environment issues involved.

"Ultimately, for the process to succeed, a mutually acceptable agreement will need to be reached," he said.

"These discussions will be exploratory and without any commitment to actually hosting a facility."

A Department of the Environment spokesman said the policy of geological disposal had been adopted by the majority of other nuclear waste producing nations and Northern Ireland supported the recommendations.

"The White Paper highlights a process for communities to volunteer for the siting of the geological disposal establishment.

"The process includes a community volunteering their site, extensive geological surveys on the site, detailed planning approval is required and if a site was suitable in NI it would also require approval from the NI Executive and Assembly.

"Given that we are at the start of a lengthy process it would not be appropriate to speculate on whether suitable sites exist in Northern Ireland."

[earl]

The councils have to agree to it. The paper I read this in first claimed that the British government was saying that it is a matter of national importance. Clearly, they are trying to appeal to Unionists through their pride in their identity. Since no nationalist/republican run council will go for this, the only options are to bury this nuclear cr@p in the heart of unionist territory. I can't see this happening though. No local would be mad enough to welcome a nuclear dump in their back yard, no matter how loyal they are! Look at the size of the island of Britain, compared to the area of NI. You'd think that they'd find somewhere there, far enough from civilisation more suitable for this. Just goes to further show what the British think of NI. They built the new MI5 headquarters there as it would be at high risk of a terrorist attack from Al Queeda, and now they want to bury their waste there.
The Irish government will not support nuclear waste been dumped on our borders, and SF in the assembly will block this, denying mutual consent as required by the GFA. Can't see this dumping idea happening, but should make for some interesting headlines.

[Jim]

Get to fuck, none of it is our nuclear waste. Bury it outside London.

[Harry]

Wouldn't want this near me. I don't think they are only looking at NI but that NI is merely an option. This should be rejected and loyalty has damn all to do with it