Revealed: three tonnes of uranium legally dumped in protected English estuary in nine years
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/may/22/revealed-uranium-from-uk-nuclear-fuel-factory-dumped-into-protected-ribble-estuary?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Posted by topotaul
7 Comments
If this is bad how bad is it?
Damn I’m not even a fan of Starmer, but it feels like the next 4 years is going to be like one of those truth tribunals that countries hold after ousting a corrupt dictator.
> the total dose of radiation from Springfields Fuels was approximately 4% of the dose limit that is set to protect members of the public from radiation
Damn, terrifying
I swear those who gave the go-ahead for this shit should at least have their pensions cancelled.
Seawater contains about three tonnes of uranium per cubic kilometer ([3 micrograms per liter](https://www.epj-n.org/articles/epjn/full_html/2016/01/epjn150059/epjn150059.html)). The river ribble [discharges](https://nrfa.ceh.ac.uk/data/station/meanflow/71001) about 1 cubic kilometer per year (34.5m^3 per second). So on average the concentration of ‘dumped’ uranium in the river would be about one ninth of that in the sea.
If the company was permitted to discharge X amount of uranium, and they didn’t breach the terms of their permit, then legally they’re in the clear. Surely if anyone fucked up, it’s the EA.
Wow, the Tories really did let you dump anything you wanted in our waters. Just remember, since 2016 British fish are happy fish!