BRIDGWATER residents only have a few days to have their say on proposals to transport nuclear waste through their town.

Magnox Ltd currently operates the Hinkley Point A site near Stogursey, which includes a small area where nuclear waste is stored before being moved elsewhere for processing.

The company has applied to Somerset County Council for permission to store waste from other nuclear power stations at the Hinkley site – which would involve moving it through Bridgwater on agreed routes.

It is staging four drop-in sessions in June where residents of Bridgwater and the surrounding villages can have their say on the plans before county councillors make a final decision.

Magnox’s proposals relate to “intermediate-level waste”, which includes cladding around nuclear fuel and materials which have become contaminated in the process of decommissioning a nuclear reactor.

This waste is less dangerous than “high-level waste” (fuel from inside a reactor), but it is still highly radioactive and requires shielding, such as concrete, to reduce the risk to individuals.

The company proposes to move ‘skips’ (large blocks) of intermediate-level waste to the Hinkley site for “packaging and interim storage” until they can be buried underground elsewhere in the UK.

Under the proposals, a total of 114 skips will be imported to the site via routes agreed when the power station was built – which includes the main roads through Bridgwater.

Of these skips, 52 will come from the Dungeness A power station in southern Kent, 36 will come from Sizewell A in Suffolk, and the remaining 27 will be come from the Oldbury site in south Gloucestershire.

Magnox has indicated the deliveries would all take place over a three-month period, beginning in the spring or summer of 2020.

Four drop-in sessions will take place on the following dates:

June 5, 11am-1pm – Cannington Village Hall, Cannington 

June 5, 5-7pm – Stogursey Church Rooms, Stogursey

June 11, 10am-noon – Bridgwater Town Hall, Bridgwater

June 11, 2-4pm – Wembdon Village Hall, Wembdon

Magnox has said that implementing the proposals on the Hinkley site would prevent the need for similar waste storage facilities to be constructed at other facilities in the UK.

A spokesperson said: “Our plans do not compromise security, safety or the environment.

“We will proactively look to time deliveries to least affect the local community.

“Sharing Hinkley Point A’s intermediate storage facility (ISF) will help to avoid the building of ISFs at Oldbury, Dungeness A and Sizewell A.”

Councillor Leigh Redman, who represents the Bridgwater South division, warned in April that approving Magnox’s plans would set an unwanted precedent, and “once open there may be no stopping it”.

Posting on his official Facebook page, he said: “This will be the first time since the Hinkley A station opened (more than 50 years) that radioactive material would be transported here.

“This will have to go to Somerset County Council’s regulation committee because I will be objecting.”

The regulation committee is expected to meet to discuss the plans in the summer.