LASTING LEGACY OF NUCLEAR WILL AFFLICT FUTURE GENERATIONS - HUHNE

2.30.28pm UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 31st Jul 2006

Commenting on today's publication of the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management's final report, Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Secretary, Chris Huhne MP said:

"Deep burial is the least bad option for the legacy of 50 years of nuclear waste, but it is also a real warning about the dangers and costs of a new generation of nuclear power. When you are in a hole, stop digging.

"If we had known about the dangers and costs of nuclear energy 50 years ago, it is doubtful we would have ever committed to this expensive mistake.

"High level nuclear waste has to be kept secure for 3000 years. Even if a community is prepared to take a deep geological storage unit, such a unit will not be sealed for 100 years.

"Even in a country as stable as ours, the last century has seen such political disruptions as the Easter rising, a near German invasion, an aerial bombardment, and decades of deadly terrorism."