Legal Challenge
The Justification regulatory process is the key piece of UK law by which health detriments of nuclear power stations are evaluated, therefore making it a central part of keeping communities as safe as possible.
According to the Euratom Directive and UK Regulations, the Secretary of State must ensure that the risk to human health from nuclear power stations is minimal and substantially outweighed by their economic, social and other benefits before giving the go ahead to build new nuclear power stations.
In a scientific report prepared for the court, Dr. Ian Fairlie, a consultant on radioactivity in the environment, said: “There have been numerous epidemiological studies into the increased incidences of cancer near nuclear power stations. In fact, if the risks found following the KiKK study, a report commissioned by the German Government, were applied to Heysham, infants and young children under five living within 5km would be exposed to increased risks of cancer, especially leukaemia.”
A member of our alliance has been granted legal aid to launch the challenge against the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change. Like everyone else in Lancaster, Morecambe and Heysham activist Rory Walker lives within 10km of the existing reactors Heysham 1 and 2 and a proposed 3rd.
The judicial review seeks a declaration that the Secretary of State’s decisions were unlawful. It also asks that the Justification Decision Regulations 2010, which were agreed for the two new types of reactor (EPR and AP1000) on 29 November 2010, be quashed.
Heysham in Lancashire is one of seven sites that the Government identified for future reactors. Other sites are Bradwell in Essex, Sellafield in Cumbria, Hartlepool, Hinkley Point in Somerset, Oldbury in Gloucestershire, Sizewell in Suffolk and Wylfa in North Wales.
This case is in solidarity with everybody living in the shadow of a nuclear installation, and everyone currently suffering from the health consequences from living near one.
Law firm Irwin Mitchell was instructed to launch judicial review proceedings on 28th February 2011 to challenge the lawfulness of Chris Huhne’s decisions. For more information about the case, please visit the Irwin Mitchell Solicitors web site.
Thank you to all of our supporters for raising money for the legal challenge. Given the disappointing outcome of the procedural hearing we are no longer requiring money for this purpose. There may be an appeal, but we will keep you updated on our plans.