Did you know trainloads of nuclear waste were passing through the Islington area? Stuart Spicer reports
A great deal of you may still be unaware that Islington is one of the many areas in London and the UK where dangerous nuclear waste is transported by train on a regular basis. The hazardous material carried on these trains passes through a number built up areas in our capital, often stopping for long periods of time near homes, schools, and workplaces.
Greenpeace has pointed out the trains are often transported in peak hours, when the stations are at their most crowded and the lines are at their busiest. Considering how outdated and poorly maintained the UK rail network an accident is just waiting to happen. Most of the transportation is between power stations and is unnecessary. Each power station should have its own facilities to deal with waste, so transportation could be avoided completely, but the nuclear industry is not willing to cover this cost. Greenpeace has recently been demonstrating in various stations around our capital to bring this issue to the forefront of public attention.
According to Direct Rail Services, radioactive waste has been transported on such trains since 1962, though the government has shouted out loud about it. The long-term health risks can only be guessed at. While DRS claim extreme care is taken when transporting the material, there have been several collisions involving radioactive waste trains – though none of these has yet resulted in an incident. However, complacency is not an option, as the consequences of an accident or an attack would be devastating.
Following the September 11 attacks, the issue of such trains being potential terrorist targets was brought to light. An attack on one of these trains could result in huge amounts of lethal radioactive material being spread across London. So far, nothing has been done to increase train security measures which are unbelievably lax. After the London bombings last year, one would have expected the issue to be resolved. However, there appears to have been no effort to make any improvements. The appalling lack of security was illustrated in a frightening manner on July 19, when newspaper reporter, Tom Parry, walked into a depot in a built up area in North West London, and placed a fake bomb on an unattended train in broad daylight. Mr Parry later revealed he had been into the depot on nine previous occasions, without being questioned once. Brent Yard depot is in the centre of a built up residential area and situated close to a hospital and a stadium. To make matters worse, an attack need not even involve getting into a depot, as a train could easily be sabotaged at any regular station, or anywhere else along the line. The radioactive waste containers can be breached with ‘armour piercing rounds’ say Greenpeace, and there is no proper form of security or escort.
Before 2001 the government did not consider terrorist attacks on these trains as a serious risk, but after the issue was brought to light, by concerned parties, a government report was released highlighting the need for increased security, particularly train depots. It seems incredible then, that five years later a reporter can gain access to one of these trains, in such a depot, and plant a fake bomb. The risk of a terror attack is one issue, but we should seriously question why these trains are passing through the most populated areas in the UK in the first place. Public outrage caused by the issue has been further ignited by the government’s new proposals to build more nuclear power stations, which can only mean more transportation of hazardous waste.
One of the regular trains passing through Islington is the Sellafield’s radioactive waste transporter, and like all the others it is indistinguishable from normal freight trains, though its contents are far from ‘normal’. This is a national issue, but in Islington we can do our part to end radioactive waste transportation in the UK, and prevent the trains from stopping at our station!
Visit Greenpeace to find out more about this issue, and to obtain information on how to contact your local MP so we can put an end to this hazardous problem once and for all.
The following Greenpeace link allows you to see the timetable for trains carrying radioactive waste, so you can find out when they pass through Islington, and other parts of London and the UK.
