Analysis of nuclear power station Hinkley Point C's controversial plans to dump mud from the Bristol Channel into the sea off Portishead has found the operation poses no risk to humans or the environment.
EDF Energy wants to resume dredging operations this year to deposit hundreds of thousands of tonnes of sediment as part of works to
It is considering two locations - Cardiff Grounds, two miles off the coast from the Welsh capital, and a private disposal site off Portishead on the English side of the water.
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In a message to its stakeholders in the South West and South Wales on Friday, the French energy giant said that independent scientific testing of mud samples found “insignificant” levels of radioactive elements normally found as by-products of a nuclear reactor.
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The update also said the findings from government marine scientific agency CEFAS confirmed that low levels of radioactivity in the mud was “predominantly naturally occurring”, with artificial input from human activity “very low” and compliant with 海角视频 law.
EDF said that the latest testing went “above and beyond internationally recognised best practice” with more samples taken from at a greater depth and with a greater range of analysis than previous CEFAS studies.
It added that its own Environmental Impact Assessment of dredging and disposal at Portishead had concluded it would have “no significant” effect on coastal and marine habitats. An environmental statement for the Cardiff Grounds site will follow “in due course", according to EDF.
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Hinkley Point C Harbour master Will Barker said: “This operation poses no threat to humans, wildlife or the local communities at all.
“The mud itself is a standard material that we find flowing up and down the Bristol Channel on a day-to-day basis.”
The announcement marks the start of a public consultation on the project’s application to the Marine Management Organisation for disposal at the Portishead site, which will be open for comment until March 26.
Environmental campaigners in Wales previously voiced concerns that mud dumped by the power plant, based near Bridgwater in Somerset, could be contaminated with nuclear waste.
In 2018 an online petition attracted hundreds of thousands of signatures and prompted a full debate in Wales’ Senedd.
But the claims were dismissed by the Welsh Government and Natural Resources Wales, the body EDF is making its application to for the Cardiff Grounds licensed disposal site.
Both said the sediment was no different to elsewhere in the channel and posed no threat to people or the environment.
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Either Cardiff Grounds or Portishead will be used for the entirety of the disposal and the volume will not be split across the two sites.
EDF said that a decision on which site will be used will be made at a later date, depending on regulatory approval and project schedule.
The company is planning to dump up to 469,000m3 of mud - compared to a previous estimate of 600,000m3.
According to the energy firm, the mud has to be disposed of within the Severn Area of Conservation in order to maintain the balance of sediment and mud in the area.
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