Don’t mess with nuclear waste
Today, a major Government announcement impacted on my constituency, when David Miliband announced he was abolishing Nirex, the nuclear waste advisory body, and handing its functions over to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
The Government did not discuss the announcement with Nirex, or bother to brief me beforehand, so I do not know what will hapen to the 70 jobs at Nirex, or what the timetable is. That is maddening and unhelpful.
But of equal concern is the principle of what the Government is doing. During his statement Miliband indicated that the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, which is taking over Nirex, is already doing Nirex’s job. At the same time, he said Nirex has a huge body of expertise which he doesn’t want to lose. The two statements are incompatible.
What is at stake is the independence of Nirex, which is in a position to give robust advice on how to dispose of high level nuclear waste. That independent cannot be lost.