CAMPAIGNERS against nuclear waste attended Copeland Council’s offices on Tuesday to protest against seismic testing in the Irish Sea.

The research, which involves sound waves, is being carried out by Nuclear Waste Services to discover whether the seabed contains suitable geology for an underground nuclear waste facility.

Mid and South Copeland are amongst areas of the UK mooted for a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) if suitable geology and a willing community exists.

The leading councillors met on Tuesday after passing a group of protestors from Lakes Against Nuclear Waste Dump who were opposing testing in the Irish Sea.

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The group’s leader Marianne Birkby said that the group’s petition is: “asking that full council is given a vote on, first of all the actual entry into the community partnership and full council we’re never given a full debate on seismic testing.”

Ms Birkby said seismic testing is “very invasive” and “damaging” claiming that marine animals could be harmed by it.

A representative of the group was given time to speak to the petition.

They said they were representing the 50,000 signatories: “The petition is to suggest that the impact on wildlife of these proposals, is substantial and that countries around the world are lobbying against seismic testing for it to be banned.

“We want to make the point that, this is not scientific research as the partnership claim, it’s in fact a commercial venture to deliver the GDF for very hot nuclear waste.”

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Cllr David Moore, who is also a member of the Mid Copeland GDF Community Partnership said: “The petition we’ve received is the petition that sits before us and that is what we’re looking at today.

“There were some numbers mentioned there of 50,000 people, the petition that was handed in to this council on June 9, there were 1342 signatures on that.

“On that petition there were 38 signatures from Copeland, 50 from the wider Cumbria and the rest made-up of signatures from the UK and worldwide.”

Cllr Moore said that the work is undertaken by a leading marine geological survey company on behalf of Nuclear Waste Services and that the necessary approvals have been sought with advice from Natural England.

NWS Senior Project Manager for Geosphere Characterisation, Chris Eldred, said a GDF “will protect future generations from the risks of keeping hazardous radioactive waste in surface stores for thousands of years.”

“To help us with this vital work, we will undertake surveys to provide a better understanding of the deep geology beyond the coast, while doing everything we can to minimise any environmental impact.

“These surveys will use sound waves, the same technology that’s routinely deployed world-wide in industries such as offshore wind, carbon capture & storage, and major infrastructure projects, and along the lines of that used in medical ultrasound imaging.

“We are committed to environmental protection and have complied with the relevant legal requirements relating to any permissions required for the surveys.”

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