Oct 2020: Covid concerns remain at Hinkley: More >>>

Sept 2020: News Roundup: More News stories since July. More >>>

17 Aug 2020: News Roundup: News stories over the last month. More >>>

8 July 2020: Stop Hinkley Point campaigners call for probe into silo damage and ‘dust cloud’: Members of The Stop Hinkley campaign organisation and other anti-nuclear groups have this week written to the UK’s nuclear regulator over its lack of a response to a recent incident at the Hinkley Point C construction site in which a silo was damaged. More >>>

10 Jun 2020: Hinkley Point C: Dust cloud released as nuclear site silo damaged: A tower at the Hinkley Point C nuclear reactor site has been damaged, releasing a dust cloud in the area. More >>>

04 Jun 2020: Steam rolling ahead with outdated 'new' nuclear: With lockdown, HPC is allowing long distance travelling for workers and ignoring social distancing. More >>>

26 Oct 2019: Hinkley Point B nuclear power station safety zone reviewed: People close to Hinkley Point B in Somerset are being asked whether the emergency planning zone round the nuclear plant should be altered. More >>>

06 Oct 2019: Inside Fukushima as people evacuated from radioactive ghost town begin their return: The Daily Mirror's Special Correspondent Tom Parry and photographer Andy Stenning got rare access inside Japan's highly radioactive Fukushima nuclear plant eight years after a tsunami triggered catastrophic meltdowns. More >>>

21 Nov 2018: Closure urged after 350 cracks found in nuclear reactor: More than 350 cracks have been discovered in an ageing nuclear power reactor at Hunterston in North Ayrshire. More >>>

19 Aug 2018: Water at Fukushima nuclear plant still radioactive even after treatment: Government wants to dump the contaminated water into the sea, but locals and fishermen oppose the idea. More >>>

02 Aug 2018: Group warns of threat to Hinkley if sea levels rise: Campaigners against Hinkley C say the nuclear power station could be at risk from rising sea levels caused by global warming. More >>>

01 Aug 2018: EDF rejects fears that Hinkley C will be vulnerable to rising sea levels: Stop Hinkley has written to the Office for Nuclear Regulation to express concern about recent reports that the area could be heading for a sea-level rise of as much as 6 metres during the lifetime of the Hinkley Point C power station. More >>>

11 Dec 2017: Nuclear industry in pledge to drive down build costs: The nuclear industry has pledged to deliver a 30% reduction in the cost of new build projects as part of a wide-ranging ‘sector deal’ with the government.. More >>>

27 Oct 2017: 28,000 sign petition to stop radioactive mud being dumped in channel: EDF has a licence that allows it to dump up to 200,000 cubic meters of dredged material from Hinkley A & B nuclear sites in an area of the Bristol Channel. More >>>

09 Feb 2017: Fire at French nuclear power plant takes reactor off grid: A fire caused an explosion at the Flamanville nuclear power plant in northwest France. More >>>

22 Jan 2017: Safety fears over EDF bid to permit doubling of nuclear reactor cracks: THE nuclear industry is secretly bidding to relax safety standards to allow the doubling of the number of cracks in the radioactive cores of Scotland's ageing reactors. More >>>

01 Nov 2016: Nuclear Futures: Our nuclear power stations are being pushed to run well past their planned life-span. Matthew Hill of BBC Radio 4 asks if this is putting us all in danger. More >>>

02 Sep 2016: Nuclear site police reveal 130 security breaches: Police guarding the UK's nuclear sites have revealed there have been 130 security breaches over the past five years - including a missing gun. More >>>

Aug 2016: Letter to the Bath Chronicle: There was a salutary warning when an eminent geologist revealed that the latest research has discovered an ancient fault-line under the sea which produced an earthquake of magnitude 4 on the Richter scale as recently as ten years ago. More >>>

25 May 2016: Fukushima clean-up chief still hunting for 600 tonnes of melted radioactive fuel: In an exclusive interview the Tokyo Electric Power Company's chief of decommissioning at Fukushima said they hoped to pinpoint the position of the fuel and begin removing it in 2021. But he admitted the technology needed to remove the fuel has to be invented. More >>>

11 May 2016: England couldn’t cope with a nuclear accident at Hinkley: Since the first wave of nuclear power stations was built between the 1950s and 1980s, we know much more about the management of nuclear accidents – which will inevitably happen, however safe the plants are. More >>>

08 May 2016: Hinkley Point: UN says UK failed to consult over risks: UN Economic and Social Council says Britain has not met its obligations to discuss the impact of nuclear accident with neighbouring countries. More >>>

28 Apr 2016: All Belgians to be given iodine pills for nuclear safety: The Belgian government has agreed to distribute iodine pills to the country's entire population as a nuclear safety precaution. More >>>

01 Mar 2016: Hinkley Point C construction 'should be delayed until 2019': Investment in Hinkley Point C should be held until 2019 so problems with a similar reactor design in France are solved, the CFE-CGC Energy Union said. More >>>

16 Feb 2016: EDF to keep four UK nuclear plants open for years longer: Heysham 1 and Hartlepool will have their life extended by five years until 2024, while Heysham 2 and Torness will see their closure dates pushed back by seven years to 2030. More >>>

27 Jan 2016: Safety review delays China’s Areva-designed nuclear reactors: Construction of two Areva-designed nuclear units in China is delayed while tests are conducted on the reactor vessel of a similar project in France, regulators in Beijing said. More >>>

10 Jul 2015: Areva aware 'as early as 2006' of serious fault in nuclear reactor destined for UK: French state-owned nuclear giant Areva has been aware for almost a decade of critical anomalies in its new generation EPR plant in Flamanville, the same model sold to Britain. More >>>

25 Jun 2015: EDF Reactor Seen Facing ‘Difficulties’ by Nuclear Safety Chief: More safety faults could be uncovered in France’s flagship nuclear reactor being built by Electricite de France SA and Areva SA in Normandy, a regulator warned. More >>>

19 Jun 2015: Nuclear Test Risks Blowing Lid Off U.K.’s Plan to Keep Lights on: The tests are essential after regulators found potential weaknesses in the steel used to contain radiation. More >>>

09 Jun 2015: Nuclear power station cancer warning: Breast cancer rates are FIVE TIMES higher at Welsh plant - and twice as high at Essex and Somerset sites, experts reveal: Women living downwind from nuclear power plants are at five times greater risk of developing breast cancer, experts have warned. More >>>

21 May 2015: Japan to raise worker emergency radiation exposure limits: Japan 's nuclear regulator is to increase the radiation exposure limit for workers in emergency situations. More >>>

14 May 2015: Sellafield nuclear waste storage safety limit relaxed following accident: Safety limits on the storage of some of the world's most dangerous nuclear wastes at Sellafield in Cumbria have been relaxed after an accident knocked out a treatment plant. More >>>

20 Apr 2015: Flamanville safety issues could delay Hinkley investment, investors warn: The Flamanville reactor is currently under construction and has already drawn criticism for running over both its schedule and budget, but fresh concerns over a manufacturing element key to the reactor’s safety has provoked fresh concern over EDF’s plans for Hinkley. More >>>

18 Apr 2015: EDF should 'cuts its losses' as Hinkley plans come under threat: Campaigners are calling on energy investors to “cut their losses” on plans for a new reactor at Hinkley Point after a “very serious” fault was discovered in a similar French scheme. More >>>

17 Apr 2015: Regulator says Areva nuclear reactor problems could be costly: Weak spots found in nuclear reactors designed by France's Areva are "very serious" and could prove costly to rectify, the head of France's nuclear regulator told a French newspaper. More >>>

17 Apr 2015: French nuclear power plant failures: There can be no margin for further error: Whatever the outcome of further tests ordered by the French watchdog, Areva has to convince the Office for Nuclear Regulation that it knows what it is doing. More >>>

16 Apr 2015: Near site of Fukushima disaster, birds still in peril: Four years after the Fukushima disaster, birds are becoming a rarity around the damaged nuclear site. More >>>

07 Apr 2015: Weak spots found in steel of Areva's French EPR reactor: French nuclear regulator ASN said Areva has found weak spots in the steel of the EPR nuclear reactor it is building for utility EDF in Flamanville , France. More >>>

06 Apr 2015: Killer Germanwings pilot sparks MI5 nuclear attack fears: KILLER pilot Andreas Lubitz has sparked an MI5 alert over fears of a disaster caused by a rogue worker at a UK nuclear base. More >>>

10 Mar 2015: The trial of several companies for the unlawful use of employees on the site of the EPR nuclear reactor at Flamanville begins before the criminal court of Cherbourg: More >>>

09 Mar 2015: EDF: 'Nuclear power is risky and unprofitable': Nuclear safety expert Mycle Schneider says pushing atomic energy represents a "financial time bomb with serious risks for nuclear safety." More >>>

21 Jan 2015: EDF's chaotic approach of French EPR reactor safety: Despite the fact that the EPR in Flamanville has been under construction for seven years, French power utility EDF has yet to provide a satisfactory answer to some fundamental questions about nuclear safety. More >>>

31 Oct 2014: Shocking pictures: Sellafield's crumbling tanks of radioactive waste abandoned 40 years ago: The fluid is being kept in rotting containers which are open to the elements, according to a worker who leaked images of the 70-year-old plant. More >>>

01 Oct 2014: Conflict of interest concerns over EDF's Hinkley nuclear project approval: Experts involved in safety review were receiving company's pensions, documents reveal. More >>>

03 Sep 2014: A worrying factor in Ukraine 's chaos: 15 nuclear reactors: There is a historical component to the anxiety: In April 1986, a reactor of the Ukrainian nuclear power plant at Chernobyl exploded, causing the worst nuclear disaster in history. More >>>

23 Aug 2014: Scientist: Massive spikes in radioactivity are being hidden from public - Radiation doses around nuclear reactors increase exponentially: Now we know that the large majority of the annual emissions from a reactor occur just once, during one spike. More >>>

18 Aug 2014: Europe struggles with cost of caring for its elderly nuclear plants: Europe's aging nuclear plants will undergo more prolonged outages over the next few years, reducing the reliability of power supply and costing operators many billions of dollars. More >>>

11 Aug 2014: Nuclear reactors in northern England to be shut down due to faults: Four nuclear reactors at two large power plants in the north of England are to be shut down temporarily, after inspectors discovered a fault with a boiler unit. More >>>

11 Jul 2014: At least one injured after earthquake hits Japan's coast near Fukushima: Nuclear power plant workers retreat to higher ground after small tsunami triggered by 6.8 magnitude earthquake. More >>>

04 Jun 2014: UK will have to gamble with nuclear safety to provide power, analyst warns: Safety limits of Britain 's ageing nuclear power plants may have to be extended to avoid major blackouts. More >>>

11 May 2014: Security fears at nuclear plants: Security at Britain's nuclear power stations is being breached eight times every month, sparking safety fears. More >>>

24 Jan 14: IT'S OUR JOB TO KEEP THE CITIZENS OF BRISTOL SAFE: Bristol City Council's Civil Protection Unit will have to draw up a plan for dealing with a nuclear disaster. But surely with a power plant so close, Bristol wouldn't stand a chance in an emergency? More >>>

10 Dec 13: Irish ministers raised nuclear concerns: Britain failed to satisfy concerns over the possible dangers from planned nuclear power stations when first raised by the Irish government three years ago, according to letters lodged in a London court case. More >>>

19 Sep 13: DERAILED NUCLEAR TRAIN IN BARROW: A RECOVERY operation was continuing this morning to remove a derailed nuclear train in Barrow. A spokesman from International Nuclear Services said the train had been on the way to Sellafield. More >>>

09 Sep 2013: Filmmaker revisits the children of Fukushima's 'Grey Zone': Filmmaker Ian Thomas Ash revisited families living between 20 and 30 km of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant for 'A2-B-C,' a sequel of sorts to his documentary 'In The Grey Zone.' More >>>

22 Aug 13: Fukushima leak is 'much worse than we were led to believe': A nuclear expert has told the BBC that he believes the current water leaks at Fukushima are much worse than the authorities have stated. More >>>

19 Mar 13: Chinese nuclear disaster "highly probable" by 2030: China is heading for a nuclear accident if it continues with current construction plans, says former state nuclear physicist and prominent critic He Zuoxiu. More >>>

07 Nov 12: Sellafield nuclear waste storage is 'intolerable risk': The National Audit Office also said that for 50 years, the operators of the Cumbria installation failed to develop a long-term plan for waste. More >>>

04 Oct 12: Europe 's 'dangerous' nuclear plants need €25bn safety refit: Nuclear "stress tests" carried out at the European Union's 143 atomic reactors have exposed "hundreds" of problems which could need up to €25bn of investment in order to restore proper plant safety levels, a report reveals today. More >>>

05 Jul 12: Japan panel: Fukushima nuclear disaster 'man-made': The crisis at the Fukushima nuclear plant was "a profoundly man-made disaster", a Japanese parliamentary panel has said in a report. More >>>

12 Mar 12: Windscale nuclear accident contaminates cows' milk - 1957 British Pathé video: Archive British Pathé footage of a 1957 news report on radioactive dust escaping from Windscale atomic station (since renamed Sellafield) and contaminating cows' milk. More >>>

07 Mar 12: UK nuclear sites at risk of flooding, report shows: As many as 12 of Britain 's 19 civil nuclear sites are at risk of flooding and coastal erosion because of climate change, according to an unpublished government analysis. More >>>

17 Feb 12: Nuclear plant data lost by health and safety watchdog employee: A member of staff from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has lost a USB stick containing a safety assessment of a nuclear power plant. More >>>

19 Jan 12: Anti-nuclear campaigners plan legal challenge to new British power stations: A group of politicians and environmentalists are trying to block the building of new nuclear power stations in Britain by submitting a formal complaint to the European commission. More >>>

16 Nov 11: Burnham councillors express fears over Hinkley sea discharge plans: Town councillors in Burnham-on-Sea have this week expressed concern over plans for liquid effluent to be discharged into the Bristol Channel from the proposed Hinkley Point C nuclear power station. More >>>

13 Oct 11: Strontium found at city near Tokyo after Fukushima disaster: STRONTIUM 90, a highly dangerous radioactive isotope, has reportedly been found atop an apartment building in Yokohama, fuelling fears that fallout from the Fukushima disaster has affected the greater Tokyo area. More >>>

02 Oct 11: Hinkley power station proposals 'poses a threat to one million people in South Wales': WELSH campaigners protested in Somerset yesterday against EDF Energy's plans to build two new nuclear reactors - arguing they pose a threat to more than one million people in South Wales. More >>>

21 Sep 11: Scottish nuclear fuel leak 'will never be completely cleaned up': Radioactive contamination that leaked for more than two decades from the Dounreay nuclear plant on the north coast of Scotland will never be completely cleaned up, a Scottish government agency has admitted. More >>>

13 Sep 11: Stop Hinkley group says French explosion is a "sobering reminder": A group campaigning against the expansion of Hinkley Point power station says this week's explosion at a French nuclear plant in which one person was killed and four others were injured is a "sobering reminder of how things can go wrong". More >>>

12 Sep 11: Explosion at French nuclear waste plant: An explosion at a French nuclear waste processing plant that killed one person and injured four others sparked fears of a radioactive leak on Monday. An emergency safety cordon was thrown around the Marcoule nuclear site near Nimes in the south of France immediately after a furnace used to melt nuclear waste exploded and caused a fire. More >>>

09 Sep 11: Fukushima disaster: it's not over yet: Six months after the multiple meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, the streets have been cleared but the psychological damage remains. More >>>

06 Sep 11: Burnham and Highbridge councillors raise fresh Hinkley fears: Town councillors have this week raised fresh concerns about the impact that the multi-billion pound expansion of Hinkley Point will have on Burnham-on-Sea and Highbridge. More >>>

31 Aug 11: French nuclear watchdog identifies gaps and weaknesses in Hinkley's model: Concerns by the French nuclear safety watchdog over the energy giant EDF's new nuclear power plant in France has fuelled opposition to the firm's plans in Somerset. More >>>

24 Aug 11: Environmentalists step up fight against Hinkley Point power station: ENVIRONMENTALISTS have stepped up their fight against a planned nuclear power station 15 miles from the South Wales coast. Campaigners say the development, at Hinkley Point on the north Somerset coast, could impact on Cardiff, the Vale of Glamorgan and other parts of the region. More >>>

04 Aug 11: Sellafield will remain a threat to Ireland: The closure of the Mox nuclear plant is good news, but Ireland is still a long way from escaping the shadow of Sellafield. More >>>

03 Aug 11: Sellafield Mox nuclear fuel plant to close: The mixed-oxide fuel plant will be shut as a consequence of the Fukushima incident, with the loss of about 600 jobs. More >>>

24 Jun 11: Anger over new Hinkley Point nuclear scheme: ENVIRONMENTALISTS have hit out at plans to build a new nuclear power station less than 15 miles off the South Wales coast amid concerns the region is "due" a tsunami. More >>>

21 Jun 11: Tritium leaks found at many nuke sites: Radioactive tritium has leaked from three-quarters of U.S. commercial nuclear power sites, often into groundwater from corroded, buried piping, an Associated Press investigation shows. More >>>

20 Jun 11: US Nuclear Regulators "Repeatedly" Weaken Safety Rules or are "Simply Failing to Enforce Them": Federal regulators have been working closely with the nuclear power industry to keep the nation's aging reactors operating within safety standards by repeatedly weakening those standards, or simply failing to enforce them, an investigation by The Associated Press has found. More >>>

27 May 11: Greenpeace accuses Tepco of nuke 'deceit': Japanese nuclear reactor operator Tepco mishandled the Fukushima nuclear crisis and tried to cover up the extent of the accident, Greenpeace Germany claims. More >>>

21 May 11: Nuclear plant workers suffer internal radiation exposure after visiting Fukushima: The government has discovered thousands of cases of workers at nuclear power plants outside Fukushima Prefecture suffering from internal exposure to radiation after they visited the prefecture, the head of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said. More >>>

18 May 11: Nuclear inspector accused of complacency after reactors get all-clear: An enormous row broke out on Wednesday after the chief nuclear safety inspector gave Britain's reactor fleet the all-clear and made modest "recommendations" to be incorporated in the planned new plant design. Critics immediately accused Mike Weightman of rushing to judgment and "complacency" in his interim report on the lessons to be learned from the Fukushima atomic crisis. More >>>

21 Apr 11: BBC Radio 4 The Report: examining safety at Hinkley. In the wake of Fukushima, Andy Denwood investigated the recent record of Britain's nuclear safety agency: is the inspectorate - relaunched this month - up to the job? Interviews with John Large, Joan Girling at Sizewell, Jim Duffy and Stop Hinkley campaigners. Listen to the programme here.

20 Apr 11: The Chernobyl deniers use far too simple a measure of radiation risk: Those who downplay the dangers of nuclear energy are wrong to focus only on dose. More >>>

04 Apr 11: A Survey of the World's Radioactive No-Go Zones: The world is full of nuclear disaster zones -- showing just how dangerous the technology really is. More >>>

30 Mar 11: EDF warned to improve reactor maintenance: France's nuclear safety authority has warned EDF , the country's monopoly operator of atomic power plants, that it needs to improve the maintenance of its reactors. More >>>

30 Mar 11: Japan Maximum Nuclear Alert: In Japan, radiation levels in the seawater near the Fukushima plant continue to rise. They're now more than 3.5 thousand times higher than normal. Radioactive material has also been detected in soil at the facility. More >>>

25 Mar 11: Chris Huhne faces legal challenge over nuclear link to cancer in children: The government has ordered an expansion of the UK's nuclear programme without properly factoring in evidence that nuclear power stations cause an increase in cancer cases in children living nearby, according to a legal challenge in the high court. More >>>

21 Mar 11: Japan Extended Reactor's Life, Despite Warning: Just a month before a powerful earthquake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima Daiichi plant at the center of Japan's nuclear crisis, government regulators approved a 10-year extension for the oldest of the six reactors at the power station despite warnings about its safety. More >>>

14 Mar 11: Japan radiation leaks feared as nuclear experts point to possible cover-up: Nuclear experts have thrown doubt on the accuracy of official information issued about the Fukushima nuclear accident, saying that it followed a pattern of secrecy and cover-ups employed in other nuclear accidents. More >>>

11 Mar 11: Halt work for safety's sake: Some weeks ago Professor Busby found that EdF documents showed ten tonnes of enriched uranium peppered over the proposed site for Hinkley C. He said this could be harmful to workers and residents if the ground is disturbed for construction work. More >>>

07 Mar 11: EDF nuclear reactor carries 'Chernobyl-size' explosion risk: French anti-nuclear campaigners claim a new power plant being built in Normandy carries an accident risk of "Chernobyl proportions". Sortir du Nucléaire, a protest network, says leaked confidential documents show that tests on the third-generation pressurised water reactor present a potentially catastrophic scenario. More >>>

Feb 2011: Energy major EDF has indicated that there is a technical flaw in 34 of its 58 French nuclear reactors that could affect the ability of the assets to operate in line with existing safety practices. The facilities in question are the company's 900 MW reactors that were constructed in the 1970s, at which time current standards relating to water injection - one of the main safety measures used to cool the reactors in the event of an emergency - were not in place. "When the reactors were designed, there were no standards concerning the precision of measuring the high-pressure (water) flows," EDF said in a statement on its website, adding that the precision of these systems was around 80 per cent of the current standard. [UXPRESS Issue 125]

02 Feb 11: Chernobyl nuclear plant shelter faces cash woes: Nearly 25 years after the world's worst nuclear disaster, it has emerged that only half the money needed to safely secure the wreckage of the Chernobyl power plant has been raised. More >>>

21 Jan 11: A spokesman for EDF said the "serious and quite incredible allegations" not only had the potential to cause public anxiety but were untrue. More >>>

14 Jan 11: Developer rejects claims of enriched uranium on Somerset nuclear power plant site: A claim that enriched uranium is present on the site proposed for a new nuclear power station in Somerset has been dismissed as "unfounded and irresponsible" by the developer. The Environment Agency also questioned the claim by independent research group Green Audit, which said it reached the conclusion by analysed data in developer EDF Energy's own Environmental Impact Statement. More >>>

21 Oct 10: Breast cancer figures spark fresh fears over nuclear power risk: Fresh fears over the health effects of nuclear power were raised last night after new figures showed breast cancer diagnoses are 50 per cent above national figures in two areas near Hinkley Point. More >>>

21 Jul 10: Fallujah children's 'genetic damage': Cancer, leukaemia and infant mortality are all increasing in the Iraqi town of Fallujah, which saw fierce fighting between US forces and Sunni insurgents, a new survey says. Still one of the most dangerous places in Iraq, doctors have been reporting a large number of birth defects since the 2004 offensive. John Simpson reports. More >>>

30 May 10: Longest FOI battle ends in defeat over cancer data: Scotland's first, longest and most disputed Freedom of Information case has ended up keeping vital cancer statistics secret. After two investigations, numbers that might shed light on the links between children's blood cancer and radioactive pollution have been kept under wraps. The Scottish Green Party, which made the original request, is frustrated and annoyed. The Scottish Health Service, which fought to keep the information confidential, sounds relieved. More >>>

20 Jan 10: The risks of nuclear energy are not exaggerated: Most scientists in this field agree that there is danger even in small doses of radiation. More >>>

28 Nov 09: Hinkley Point C reactor safety concerns dismissed: Claims the nuclear reactor of the new Hinkley Point C power plant will be of an unsafe design have been dismissed. Nuclear inspectors raised safety queries in their initial assessment of the European Pressured Water Reactor (EPR) planned for the site. More >>>

27 Nov 09: Designs for new UK nuclear reactors are unsafe, claims watchdog: Britain's main safety regulator threw the government's energy plans into chaos tonight by damning the nuclear industry's leading designs for new plants. The Health and Safety Executive said it could not recommend plans for new reactors because of wide-ranging concerns about their safety. More >>>

27 Nov 09: Nuclear reactors contain safety flaws, watchdog reveals: In the race to provide energy for the nation's future, two multinational companies have led the way with designs for reactors that promised clean, green electricity with unprecedented safety. But detailed reviews by the Health and Safety Executive highlight a series of shortcomings in security and safety systems in both reactors that must be fixed or redesigned before the power plants can be approved for construction. More >>>

11 Nov 09: This was published in the leading Swedish newspaper in Finland: Relating to construction of the Finnish Olkiluoto 3 1600MWe nuclear power plant: "The pipes that form the cooling system around the reactor have been partially welded without any supervision. TVO and Areva are right now investigating how much of the work must be redone and what the consequences are." More >>>

14 Sep 09: The medical and economic costs of nuclear power: "Telling states to build new nuclear plants to combat global warming is like telling a patient to smoke to lose weight." A recent study sponsored by the German government examined children who lived near 16 of the country's commercial nuclear power plants. The results revealed a strongly increased risk of all childhood cancers, particularly leukaemia, the closer the proximity of the children's residence to the reactor. More >>>>

10 Sep 09: Ex-soldier died of cancer caused by Gulf War uranium: The death of an ex-soldier from cancer was caused by his exposure to depleted uranium during the 1991 Gulf War, an inquest jury ruled. The panel found it was more likely than not that his death in June last year was ''caused or contributed to'' by the radioactive material which is used in military munitions. More >>>

25 Aug 09: MP reveals coolant leaks at Hinkley B: THERE have been 12 leaks and four fires at Hinkley B power station since 2001, it emerged this week. The information was released by a parliamentary under-secretary in the Department of Energy and Climate Change, in response to a question about fires and leaks at all of Britain's nuclear power stations. More >>>

13 May 09: Oldbury health risks are a concern: Unfortunately, the report clearing Oldbury nuclear power station of health risks has some important problems. For example, the South West Public Health Observatory said it examined cancers within 10km of the nuclear site but missed out Chepstow. More >>>

10 May 09: Safety threat to planned nuclear power stations: Britain's plans to build a new generation of nuclear power stations have been thrown into jeopardy by startling official safety fears. The nuclear regulatory body in Finland, where the first of the reactors is being built, has taken the extraordinary step of threatening to halt its construction because it has not been satisfied that key safety systems will work. More >>>

21 Apr 09: New nuclear plants could prove costly in many ways: Once more, members of the public are being conned into a spurious "consultation" exercise on the siting of new nuclear power stations at sites that already support nuclear power plants, including Hinkley B and Oldbury, and being given a contemptible month in which to express their views. More >>>

08 Feb 09: New nuclear plants will produce far more radiation: Industry documents reveal modern reactors more dangerous in an accident than the ones they replace. The revelations - based on information buried deep in documents produced by the nuclear industry itself - calls into doubt repeated assertions that the new European Pressurised Reactors will be safer than the old atomic power stations they replace. More >>>

22 Jan 09: Health experts invited to answer Oldbury nuclear cancer fears: Health experts will be invited to South Gloucestershire answer fears that cancer cases could be linked to Oldbury nuclear power station. Oldbury site director Joe Lamonby refuted the claims, saying there was no evidence of more cases of the disease in the area. More >>>

07 Jan 09: Warning over Hinkley waste shipped to US: CAMPAIGNERS have slammed a decision by Hinkley Point bosses to ship nuclear waste to the US. Magnox, the firm that runs Hinkley Point A plant, has won approval to ship hundreds of tons of nuclear waste for recycling in Tennessee. Stop Hinkley spokesman Jim Duffy said: "This radioactive metal should be isolated from the environment." More >>>

19 Dec 08: Anger at Oldbury nuclear plant's two-year extension: Anti-nuclear campaigners have reacted with astonishment after Oldbury nuclear power station was been given permission to carry on generating for another two years. The atomic plant had been set to close down at the end of December. But a delay in the defuelling schedule meant it was possible for the station on the banks of the river Severn to stay in operation, provided site regulators gave their approval. More >>>

21 Nov 08: How safe is it to live near a nuclear power station?: Studies in 2001 showed 50%t more breast cancers in the population downstream of Oldbury over a six-year period, a third more prostate cancers downwind of Oldbury, and 11 times more leukaemia cases in Chepstow directly across the Severn from Oldbury. This week's court ruling that pesticide spraying can harm peoples' health should be listened to by the nuclear industry. More >>>

12 Jun 08: Undeniable nuclear link to some cancers: The two front-page stories in Friday's Western Daily Press caught my eye. Hinkley's new nuclear power plant and Susan Swan coping with breast cancer. More >>>

02 Jun 08: SERIOUS RISKS IN NUCLEAR INDUSTRY: Nigel Cann's reactor has not been "generating electricity safely" for its 32-year life. Accidental releases of radiation have occurred throughout that time. More>>>

29 May 08: Response to Hinkley B Director: Nigel Cann's zeal for nuclear expansion at Hinkley Point is not surprising given his role as Director of Hinkley 'B' but there are other sides to the argument. More>>>

20 May 08: IN DENIAL ON DANGERS OF RADIATION: In the light of the Government's new proposals to sanction more nuclear power stations and a newer, more deadly generation of "Trident" submarines, one can see that admitting the truth about radioactivity would cause such public outrage that both these proposals would be voted out of court. More>>>

15 May 08: KEPT IN DARK ABOUT POWER STATION SAFETY: As a local resident, I have always been assured that a meltdown accident could never happen at Hinkley Point because of the built-in safety systems in the British AGR reactors. I am therefore dismayed to hear that the important last resort safety system is missing at Hinkley Point B power station. More>>>

09 May 08: NUCLEAR STATION FACES SHUTDOWN OVER SAFETY: SCOTLAND 'S oldest nuclear power station is at the centre of fresh safety fears after it was revealed it may be impossible to shut down its reactors in an emergency. Nuclear inspectors admit that a vital shut-down mechanism at Hunterston B in Ayrshire is not in place. It is estimated the cost of making the shut-down systems safe at Hunterston B and its sister plant, Hinkley Point B in Somerset, could be upwards of £100million. More>>>>

08 May 08: Hinkley Point's nuclear reactor 'tripped' on Thursday morning: One of the nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point power station, near Burnham-On-Sea, has been shut down after unexpectedly "tripping" on Thursday morning (May 8th) following an "engineering issue." More>>>>

12 Apr 08: Nuclear super-fuel too hot to handle: The energy we can get from uranium is set to rocket, but safety fears and waste disposal problems loom. IT SEEMS like a no-brainer. Make uranium burn stronger, hotter and longer in nuclear reactors, and you'll need less fuel, and there'll be less waste to deal with when it has been exhausted. More>>>>>

06 Mar 08: HEALTH EXPERTS REJECT INFANT DEATH STUDY BY GREEN GROUP: Claims there has been a threefold rise in the number of infant deaths downwind of Hinkley Point nuclear power station have been dismissed by the region's health experts. Results of a study by anti-nuclear group Green Audit have been branded "misleading" by Dr Julia Verne, director of the South West Public Health Observatory in Bristol. More>>>>>

06 Mar 08: Row erupts over Hinkley Point infant mortality figures: A report by health officials disputing high infant death rates in the Burnham-On-Sea area around Hinkley Point may have diluted the statistics by examining populations less likely to be affected, nuclear campaigners claimed. The 'Stop Hinkley' group has this week called for fresh research into the risk of breast cancer, leukaemia and infant mortality concentrated in the same affected populations. More>>>>>

04 Mar 08: MORTALITY HOTSPOT IS DISPUTED: Claims that infant mortality rates are three times higher downwind of Hinkley Power station in Somerset. Towns such as Burnham-on-Sea and Highbridge were identified in a study as having infant death rates three times higher than the norm. The figures were revealed by Dr Chris Busby of Green Audit, who was commissioned to carry out the study by protest group Stop Hinkley. More>>>>>

02 Mar 08: Health experts slam Hinkley claims: NEW claims by anti-nuclear campaigners that towns downwind of Hinkley Point Power Station show a three-fold rise in infant mortality rates have this week been attacked by health experts. Brean, Berrow, Burnham, Highbridge, Huntspill, Combwich and Pawlett were identified in a new study as having infant death rates three times higher than the norm. More>>>(Including Readers' comments)

01 Mar 08: N-PLANT CANCER FEARS HIGHLIGHTED: Infant mortality is almost three times more likely to occur in Severn Estuary towns and villages downwind of Hinkley Point power station than inland parts of Somerset. Details of the study by Dr Chris Busby, of Green Audit, which was supported by a former director of the South West Cancer Registry, were aired last night on the BBC's Inside Out West programme. More>>>>>

25 Feb 08: Atomic waste clean-up plan comes under fire: Two government agencies at the heart of the nuclear industry are at war over safety concerns at some of the country's most sensitive sites. The Environment Agency believes insufficient funds have been made available by ministers for the clean-up of some sites, and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is accused of making things worse. More>>>>>

06 Feb 08: FEARS OVER N-PLANT'S BOILER SYSTEM: Anti-nuclear campaigners have called for a safety inspection of Hinkley Point power station amid fears its boiler system may be in need of repair. More>>>>>

04 Jan 08: Scientists take on Brown over nuclear plans: A group of scientists and academics condemn as undemocratic and possibly illegal the government's plans to force through a new generation of nuclear power stations. They warn that questions about the risks from radiation, disposal of nuclear waste and vulnerability to a terrorist attack have not been addressed. More>>>>>

01 Jan 08: FURY AS NUCLEAR CORE CHECKS ARE 'SKIPPED': Outraged campaigners have hit out at proposals to delay maintenance at a blighted South Gloucestershire power station. Members of the Shut Oldbury Campaign are furious an inspection shut-down date scheduled for November will now take place after the reactor's permanent closure at the end of 2008. More>>>>>

26 Oct 07: Fresh calls for nuclear power station near to Burnham-On-Sea to close: Anti-nuclear campaigners have this week backed calls by a top nuclear consultant for the immediate closure of Hinkley Point power station, near Burnham-On-Sea. The calls came after a regulator's report stated that Hinkley's reactor core support system is 'potentially unsafe'. More>>

25 Oct 07: NUCLEAR POWER STATION PLANS IN JEOPARDY: Plans for a new generation of nuclear power stations have been hit by a series of obstacles, according to leaked reports. The Government has signalled its backing for new reactors - almost certain to include one at Hinkley Point i. But the documents said the proposals may have to be put on hold because of a shortage of experts to carry out design assessments. More>>>>>

12 Sep 07: Burying safety issues on nuclear waste is not an option : A year after the CoRWM report, the government is still ignoring the advice from its own committee. It has eagerly accepted what it sees as the solution of deep geological disposal, but it has done little to address the vital prerequisites CoRWM called for. More >>>>>

20 July 07: Hinkley child cancer claims rubbished: CLAIMS made by anti-nuclear campaigners that an increase in youth cancer cases has been found near Hinkley Point have been rubbished by the power plant. Protest group Stop Hinkley says a new compilation of international studies into childhood leukaemia shows a 23% rise above average in the disease near more than 200 nuclear sites. More >>

17 Jun 07: Revealed: faulty nuclear reactor was allowed to operate without safety alarm: Britain 's nuclear watchdog last month allowed a faulty nuclear reactor to start up even though it had not been fitted with an important safety system, startling internal documents seen by The Independent on Sunday reveal. The documents also show that the Nuclear Installation Inspectorate (NII) judged that the reactor, at Oldbury nuclear power station in Gloucestershire, was not safe enough to operate for the next 18 months, but allowed it to go onstream until November anyway.

05 Jun 07: Probe into nuclear station fire: BOSSES at Oldbury nuclear power station have launched a top level inquiry into last week's blaze which has once again put the "dinosaur" atom plant out of action. People out and about near the plant reported a loud bang and an alarming release of steam as the fire tripped automatic mechanisms and the reactor was deactivated as a precautionary measure.

31 May 07: BLAZE SPARKS SAFETY FEARS AT NUCLEAR POWER PLANT: A blaze broke out at an ageing nuclear power station, just days after it was given permission to start up again amid safety fears. A generator burst into flames at the plant in Oldbury, which restarted producing electricity only on Sunday. It had been shut down for the past two years because of government inspectors' concerns about corrosion of the graphite core. Angry campaigners branded the decision to allow the reactor to be switched on again as "Russian roulette".

31 May 07: NUCLEAR IS STILL A WORRY: NUCLEAR power is supposed to be the answer to many of our future energy problems. But despite its many virtues, the nuclear industry has always been blighted with fears over safety.

08 May 07: Hinkley B given clean bill of health: HINKLEY Point B power station has been given a clean bill of health and licensed for the next ten years, despite the continuing safety concerns of anti-nuclear campaigners and the NII's criticisms of Hinkley over an apparent shortage of some of the information.

26 Apr 07: HINKLEY BREAST CANCER CLAIMS SPARKS NEW ROW: A furious row has broken out over claims that an unexpected cluster of cancer cases has been found near Hinkley Point nuclear power station. Anti-nuclear campaigners yesterday claimed the death rate from breast cancer in one part of Burnham-on-Sea was 70 per cent above the national average for the 10 years to 2005.

14 Mar 07: NUCLEAR PLANT 'FACES DANGER OF FLOODING' A plan to dump hundreds of tonnes of radioactive waste at Hinkley Point on the Somerset coast emerged yesterday just as experts on flooding warned the station was at risk from sea level rises and storm surges.

07 Mar 07: Campaigners slam Hinkley reopening ANTI-NUCLEAR campaigners have condemned proposals to reopen Hinkley B nuclear power station after repairs taking six months. Operators British Energy closed the power station in September after cracks were discovered in pipes in the boiler system of one of Hinkley B's two reactors.

30 Dec 06: HINKLEY B TO STAY SHUT UNTIL MARCH   Hinkley Point B nuclear power station will remain shut down until March. One reactor was shut down in September for maintenance and when cracks were found in boiler tubes the second one was also shut down so checks could be made.

26 Oct 06: Time running out fast for oldest nuclear plants, warn inspectors. Watchdog raises safety fear over core cracks and Minister starts search for deep waste bunker.  The future of some of Britain's ageing nuclear power stations was yesterday thrown into doubt as government inspectors claimed cracks in the graphite cores of the oldest plants were so serious that a safety case for the stations operating much longer could not be made.  In a separate development, the government yesterday announced that it was looking for a site for a deep bunker to store Britain's mountain of high-level nuclear waste.

24 Oct 06: Calls to close Hinkley Point. SOMERSET'S troubled Hinkley Point power station must never open again, anti-nuclear protestors warned this week. Both the station's advanced gas-cooled reactors are currently shut down due to cracks in a reactor's graphite core and deterioration of boiler pipes.

21 Oct 06: REACTOR SHUTDOWNS SPARK NEW CALLS TO CLOSE HINKLEY POINT Calls for Hinkley Point B nuclear power station to be closed for good were renewed after the announcement that the second of its reactor is to be shut down temporarily for safety checks. When the other of the stations two reactors was shut down in September for maintenance, cracks were found in boiler tubes in the reactor.

19 Oct 06: Slow death for nuclear plant? HINKLEY Point B nuclear power station is to shut down after cracks in one of the reactors were found to be worse than first thought. Jubilant anti-nuclear campaigners have claimed the move could signal the end of Hinkley Point.

18 Oct 06: SHUTDOWN AT HINKLEY B AS REACTOR PIPES CRACK Anti-nuclear campaigners have called for the Westcountry's only nuclear power station to be closed for good - after serious cracks were discovered in reactor pipes. They warned that the cracks were a sign that the ageing plant, which is due to be decommissioned in five years, had come to the end of its useful life.

04 Sep 06: REACTOR IS A DANGER TO PUBLIC  Campaigners are calling for Oldbury nuclear power station to shut down. The Stroud District Green party says the Magnox facility is dangerous after 38 years of generating electricity. Party spokesman Philip Booth said the station's second reactor has been out of use since June last year and the first reactor is due to come off-line this year for statutory inspections. "Why waste any more millions on propping up this dinosaur?"

01 Sep 06: Power station work on hold   ENGINEERS at Oldbury atomic power station are still awaiting the go ahead to restart an allegedly clapped out nuclear reactor.  But the approval has so far failed to materialise, prompting further claims that the ageing power station is too worn out to make it even to its scheduled final shut down in December 2008.

01 Sep 06: OLDBURY SHOULD GIVE UP NOW FOR SAFETY'S SAKE  Safety regulators have yet to give permission for Oldbury nuclear power station to return to full power because it is unsafe, campaigners have claimed. A report in the Nuclear Safety Newsletter says tests on Reactor Two at the ageing station were continuing as planned but they had yet to give final approval for it to be restarted.

20 Jul 06: N-PLANT REACTOR SHUTDOWN WORRIES  More safety concerns have been raised over the Hinkley B nuclear power station after a malfunction in one of its control rods forced it to shut down for more than 72 hours.

06 Jul 06: More checks on reactors ordered after cracks found The government's nuclear watchdog has demanded that British Energy carry out more frequent checks on its nuclear power stations amid concerns over cracks in the reactors' cores, it emerged yesterday. The Nuclear Safety Directorate (NSD) wrote to British Energy urging it to step up inspections after an assessment of the Hinkley Point B advanced gas-cooled (AGR) nuclear plant in April.

05 Jul 06: Documents reveal hidden fears over Britain's nuclear plants Unexplained cracks in reactor cores increase likelihood of accident, say government inspectors. Government nuclear inspectors have raised serious questions over the safety of Britain's ageing atomic power stations, some of which have developed major cracks in their reactor cores, documents reveal today.

05 Jul 06: Cracks found at nuclear stations Unexplained cracks in the reactor cores of Britain's atomic power stations have been uncovered by nuclear inspectors. The safety assessments, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, show the Nuclear Safety Directorate has issued warnings over the state of the reactor cores at Hinkley Point B and other UK nuclear plants.

05 Jul 06: Hinkley 'close to cracking up' Shock report by safety watchdogs. Unexplained cracks in reactor cores increase likelihood of accident, say government nuclear inspectors who have raised serious questions over the safety of Britain's ageing atomic power stations, some of which have developed major cracks in their reactor cores. Wear and tear on the reactors' graphite blocks is highlighted in previously unseen documents.

13 Jun 06: Breast cancer rates higher near nuclear plant  Cancer levels in women living close to a former nuclear power station are more than 15 times higher than the national average, claims a TV documentary. The documentary reveals the shocking results of a survey carried out in the vicinity of Trawsfynydd nuclear power station in north Wales.

06 May 06: Dog deaths remain a puzzle. ANTI-NUCLEAR campaigners say they are still puzzled after high radiation was thought to have been the cause of the death of two dogs on Kilve beach.

26 Apr 06: MAPPING THREAT TO CITY FROM A NUCLEAR ACCIDENT. A CHERNOBYL-style explosion at Oldbury nuclear reactor would have terrible consequences for Bristol and the rest of the country, say campaigners. Millions of people from the Bristol and London areas might have to be evacuated from their homes if the nuclear reactor exploded.

25 Apr 06: N-BLAST WOULD MEAN MILLIONS BEING MOVED. Millions of people from Bristol to London might have to be evacuated if a Chernobyl-style explosion occurred at Oldbury. Anti-nuclear campaigners have released a map based on the radiation hotspots map for Chernobyl produced for the CIA.

17 Jan 06: 'Bomb me' invitation to terrorists claim Hinkley C opponents. Stop Hinkley has warned that building another nuclear power station in West Somerset is "like putting up a sign saying to terrorists 'bomb me'."

16 Jan 06: GREENS FEAR TERROR ATTACK ON NUCLEAR SITE. Gloucester Green Party claims a shocking new report confirms fears that nuclear power stations are and will be terrorist targets. A Gloucester Green Party spokesperson said the sites at Berkeley and Oldbury could be at risk.

04 Jan 06: ERODING THE POWER OF NUCLEAR FUEL. Nearly all of the UK's nuclear power stations have been built on the coast but a recent study by Nirex, the UK's nuclear waste agency, has shown many of these sites are vulnerable to coastal erosion and rising sea levels resulting from climate change.

01 Nov 05: "Death of pet dogs leads to radiation fear at Hinkley" An inquiry has been launched into a claim that high radiation levels were found near Hinkley Point. The Geiger counter readings were taken by a man whose two dogs died from stomach cancer after regularly being walked in the area.

30 Oct 05: "SCHOOLKIDS PLAY IN NUKE TRAIN YARD" A DEADLY cargo of radioactive nuclear waste sat in a railway siding for hours, surrounded by houses and less than 100 metres from a school. Locals, including children, were able to walk unchallenged to within feet of it.

10 Oct 05: "N-Power stations move is welcome." Campaigners have welcomed moves to speed up decommissioning of the nuclear power stations in Oldbury and Berkeley. But they were worried it could lead to a new generation of nuclear power plants being built on the sites.