PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
20 August 2007


Sizewell Nuclear Power Station Closed in Response to Climate Change


Photos (free from copyright) available from:
 http://fme.sincerethought.org/gallery/v/2007/climate

Activists from the “Camp for Climate Action” have today blockaded
Sizewell nuclear power station to oppose the myth that nuclear power is
carbon neutral and a solution to climate change. The peaceful protest,
which started 7:45 this morning, is currently disrupting traffic going
in the main entrance to both Sizewell 'A' and 'B'. Sizewell, on the
Suffolk coast, has been identified as a possible site for a new nuclear
reactor by Government consultants recently.

Five activists have chained themselves together across the road to the
plant. They are holding banners reading “Nuclear Power is Not the
Answer to Climate Chaos” and “Don't Nuke the Climate”.

The action forms part of the widely publicised Camp for Climate Action
currently taking place outside Heathrow airport. The surprise blockade
of Sizewell nuclear power plant was organised to oppose plans for the
construction of new nuclear power stations. The British Government’s
energy white paper, published in May 2007, contains proposals for the
construction of a new generation of nuclear power stations, supposedly
as a solution to global warming. This is a claim that the protesters
strongly oppose.

At present, nuclear power is responsible for producing around 4% of the
UK’s energy. The activists are concerned that the construction of new
nuclear power plants will not provide a real answer to the threats posed
by global warming. One of them, Adam Conway said: “If you take into
account the whole life cycle of a nuclear reactor and all its fuel and
waste then nuclear power is not carbon neutral. And that's before you
consider the dangers and insecurities inherent in nuclear power. To
expand nuclear power in response to climate change would be to jump out
of the frying pan and into the fire.”

The protesters also draw attention to the as yet unsolved problem of
nuclear waste generated by nuclear power, and the risk of nuclear
accidents. Mell Harrison, co-ordinator of Eastern Region CND and one of
the activists involved, commented: “The construction of new nuclear
power plants is not only incredibly costly, it’s also very short
sighted. We would be able to produce a limited amount of electricity
for a couple of generations, but the coming hundreds of generations will
have to deal with the waste produced by the nuclear industry. There is
also a risk of catastrophic nuclear accidents and an increased risk of
nuclear weapons proliferation. Large areas are still affected by the
radiation released by the disaster at Chernobyl, and now they are
proposing building new nuclear power plants in an area that is at risk
from sea level rise.”

The protest at Sizewell is one of many nonviolent actions that have been
organised by participants in the “Camp for Climate Action”, to draw
attention to the dangers of climate change, and to highlight positive
solutions to the problem. The site at Sizewell has been identified as
one of a number of possible locations for new nuclear power stations in
the UK. Sizewell hosts the most recently constructed civilian nuclear
reactor in Britain, “Sizewell B” that began commercial production of
electricity in 1995 following Britain’s longest ever public enquiry.

Contact: 01603 722898 Peter Lanyon (offsite)
07971 347549 Mell Harrison (part of the blockade)

END