Olympics nuclear waste trains are potential terrorist target, warns London MEP

Jean Lambert MEP:"These trains carry all the vital ingredients for a ‘dirty bomb’"

Last weekend Jean Lambert, London’s Green MEP, supported renewed calls from campaigners to end the running of trains transporting nuclear waste through Hackney.

Trains carrying radioactive nuclear fuel rods run at least once a week alongside passenger services on the North London Line – right through the 2012 Olympic Park site – en route to the Sellafield reprocessing plant in Cumbria.

“These trains carry all the vital ingredients for a ‘dirty bomb’ and the very real threat of a terrorist attack will be amplified in the-run up to the Games,” said Jean Lambert MEP, speaking at a demonstration on Saturday in which protesters marched from Victoria Park to Stratford and around the perimeter of the Olympic Park.

“Nuclear sites and the transport for nuclear fuel and spent fuel have long been seen as potential targets for terrorist attack. If you were planning a so-called ‘spectacular’, the Olympic Games are an obvious target, as we have seen in past on at least two occasions, she said.

Mrs Lambert also highlighted the fact that the nuclear industry relies on this transportation network because of the problem of dealing with its toxic by-products, and told her audience the only real green solution to climate change is renewable energy.

The Nuclear Trains Action Group (NTAG) has long been campaigning against the transport of this toxic waste through densely populated areas such as Hackney.

According to NTAG, these trains present a substantial hazard – partly because they are continuously giving out radiation, but also because if the containers were broken, the radiation spilt out could* cause thousands of deaths in the surrounding area. It argues that makes them a prime target for terrorist attack, a risk heightened further by the line’s proximity to the Olympic site.

In May 2010, Green London Assembly member Darren Johnson raised the issue at Mayor’s Question Time, asking whether the Mayor, Boris Johnson, could provide reassurances to Londoners on the route of the nuclear waste trains through the Olympics site during the Games.

The Mayor of London replied: “The transportation of spent nuclear fuel through London by rail is undertaken by Direct Rail Services, a company owned by the Nuclear Decommissioning Agency. This is regulated and monitored by the Government and therefore falls outside of my jurisdiction.

“I am therefore unable to confirm if nuclear waste will be transported through London during the 2012 Games. However, I have no concerns regarding the transportation of nuclear waste, and have full faith that the government agencies responsible undertake this in a safe manner which poses no risk to Londoners or visitors during the Games.”

*Note: This story was updated 14:35 Monday 19 July 2010. The word would was amended to could in the sentence: According to NTAG, these trains present a substantial hazard – partly because they are continuously giving out radiation, but also because if the containers were broken, the radiation spilt out could* cause thousands of deaths in the surrounding area.