Society for Radiological Protection J. Radiol. Prot. 34 (2014) 719

Journal of Radiological Protection doi:10.1088/0952-4746/34/3/719

Letter to the Editor

Reply to ‘The siting of UK nuclear power stations’ Dear Sir The writer of the preceding letter clearly has a particular viewpoint and it may be that statements were made at the Sizewell B Inquiry that have subsequently not been followed in detail. However, this inquiry was some thirty years ago so there has been much opportunity to review and refine siting considerations whilst maintaining some restrictions on the surrounding population. The Office of Nuclear Regulation (ONR), as the nuclear safety regulator, is informed of new developments around nuclear sites and can offer advice on whether they should be allowed, but the decision is made by the local authority. It should be possible to discover in the archives whether the developments referred to were subject to advice. Interestingly, the Detailed Emergency Planning Zone around Sizewell B has recently (April 2014) been amended and in fact the area has been reduced (http://news.onr.org.uk/2014/04/sizewell-off-site-emergency-planning-area). Thus it is simply untrue to say that the emergency planning is based on the older Sizewell A station. The current approach to siting is available on the ONR website at http://www.onr.org.uk/depz-onr-principles.htm and ONR’s technical assessment which resulted in the amended DEPZ for Sizewell is at http://www.onr.org.uk/pars/2014/sizewell-a-14‒001.pdf. With regard to power lines, Sizewell C’s proposed 3.3 GW of output, coupled with 1.2 GW from Sizewell B, would still not be out of the ordinary when compared to other large nuclear complexes (for example Kashiwazaki-Kariwa in Japan with combined capacity 8.2 GW; Bruce in Ontario, 6.3 GW; and Gravelines just over the English Channel with 5.5 GW—Sizewell B/C would only just creep into the global top ten nuclear complexes by output) let alone big hydro schemes such as Three Gorges in China (22.5 GW), Itaipu (Brazil/Paraguay, 14 GW) or Guri (Venezuela, 10.2 GW). A fully operational Sizewell B/C would be comparable to the UK’s biggest thermal plant, Drax in North Yorkshire (4 GW), which has operated since the 1970s/1980s. There is no convincing evidence to suggest any significant health threat associated with the magnetic flux from these and other large generating complexes and there seems little merit in seeking to create fears about Sizewell C. Yours faithfully,

Geoff Vaughan1 and Malcolm Grimston2 1

  School of Mathematics, Computer Science and Engineering, City University London, Northampton Square, London EC1V 0HB, UK 2   Imperial Centre for Energy Policy and Technology, Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ, UK E-mail: [email protected]

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Reply to 'The siting of UK nuclear power stations'.

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