3. Business Statement and Announcement

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:59 pm on 22 September 2020.

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Photo of Neil McEvoy Neil McEvoy Independent 2:59, 22 September 2020

I'd like a Government statement on the Westminster Government's report NRPB-M173. I understand it's no longer in the public domain, but it shows quite clearly that plutonium has leaked from Hinkley Point into the estuary for decades. What is of particular concern is that, in 1982, the report and the tests of the UK Government showed that was a huge spike in plutonium discharge through the waste pipe. Therefore, plutonium did enter the estuary at a very high level, scientists say, and they've actually, as I said, presented the evidence. The issue for me is that the Government allowed the mud to be dumped in 2018 because they said there was no need to test for plutonium or alpha emitters, alpha radiation, because there was no corresponding spike in gamma. Now, what report NRPB-M173 shows is that you do not need a peak in gamma radiation when there is a peak in plutonium. So, you've got a huge, huge peak in plutonium leaking into the estuary, and I think it's reasonable, therefore, to assume that it's in the mud.