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Nearly 40,000 and Growing - Call to Stop to Seismic Blasting Plan in the Irish Sea




Press Release from Nuclear Free Local Authorities


Over 30,000 say No to seismic testing in Irish Sea

The Nuclear Free Local Authorities have congratulated Radiation Free Lakeland on the astonishing success of their on-line petition to Save the Whale and the Snail from Nuclear Waste Services’ plan to carry out seismic testing in the Irish Sea.

The petition on Change.Org https://www.change.org/p/save-the-whale-and-the-snail-stop-nuclear-waste-services-blasting-the-irish-sea was started by Marianne Birkby, Cumbria resident and Co-ordinator of Lakes Against the Nuclear Dump (LAND), one of several campaigns being waged against civil nuclear projects by Radiation Free Lakeland. NWS plans to conduct seismic blasting, sending sound waves down to the seabed every few seconds over the course of several weeks from specialist vessels located up to 22kms from the West Cumbrian coast. The reflected sound waves will reveal the geology of the rocks beneath the ocean floor; geology that NWS hopes will prove favourable to its ambition to dump Britain’s deadly nuclear waste in a repository out at sea.

Unfortunately for NWS, a report made public by Radiation Free Lakeland on Monday has revealed seismic testing is extremely bad for the health of marine life. Research by marine pollution expert, Tim Deere-Jones, slammed NWS studies as ‘lacking scientific rigour’ and identified findings from around the world that sound blasting can make marine mammals deaf or disorientated, and in some cases dead.

At 30,000 names the Change.Org petition is one of the largest so far collected on the on-line platform and it is continuing to grow by the minute.

The Chair of the NFLA, Councillor David Blackburn, is urging anyone who is concerned about the welfare of marine life in the Irish Sea to sign it before today, before it is presented by Radiation Free Lakeland to the Marine Management Organisation, Nuclear Waste Services and Copeland Borough Council: “For Nuclear Waste Services, their ambition to conduct covert sound blasting in the Irish Sea has become a major PR headache and a set-back to for their ambition to create a so-called Geological Disposal Facility to store Britain’s deadly radioactive waste off-shore. “Through the efforts of Marianne, Radiation Free Lakeland and the NFLA, and with help from sympathetic journalists, academics, scientists, wildlife conservation groups, and the public are now aware of the plan and are up in arms about it. “The NFLA does not support a GDF, particularly one located below the seabed, and, if NWS remains fixed on one, we want them to apply for a Marine Licence and use a non-intrusive testing method that will not harm marine life. Clearly over 30,000 people agree, let’s see if we get it to 35,000.”

For more information, please contact NFLA Secretary Richard Outram by email on richard.outram@manchester.gov.uk or mobile 07583097793 Ends://..

The website of Radiation Free Lakeland can be found at: https://mariannewildart.wordpress.com/


Lakes Against Nuclear Dump is a campaign of Radiation Free Lakeland https://www.lakesagainstnucleardump.com/


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