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Northern Ireland tourist sites are among the potential locations for a nuclear waste “dumping ground”, it has emerged.

Vast swathes of the country are to be examined by a Government firm hoping to find a permanent place for the UK’s radioactive material.

Among them are beauty spots such as the Mourne Mountains, the Causeway coast, the Sperrins and Lough Neagh.

Thousands have signed a petition against any such facility in the picturesque Mournes and campaign groups across the country have vented their anger online.

Newry, Mourne and Down District Council was so concerned it voted to write to Westminster saying it will never consent to a GDF in the Mournes or any other part of Northern Ireland.

Councillors agreed a motion on the issue at their February 4 meeting saying: “This council notes with great concern the conclusions made from the National Geological screening for a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) by Radioactive Waste Management (RMW) which suggests that parts of Newry, Mourne and Down District and other areas in Northern Ireland might be suitable for a GDF.

“This council will write to the minister for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy stating Council’s position as, ‘Newry, Mourne and Down District Council does not consent, and never will consent to hosting a Geological Disposal Facility in our Council area or any part of Northern Ireland’.

“This Council asks the other 10 councils in the North to take a similar position and equally write to the minister.”

A spokesperson said the council was consulted in March 2018 about how any future consultation with communities on the issue would take place, but were not asked if the council would want radioactive waste disposal within it’s district.

Furious campaigners from the area have called on political representatives to better brief the public on such plans.

While Mid Ulster group Save Our Sperrins is urging voters to “add this to your list of questions and concerns when the canvassing teams knock your door.

“We need to stand up and be counted when it comes to defending our community and our environment,” they added.

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SDLP MLA Colin McGrath has described the RMW video outlining the Mournes as a possible site for nuclear waste as “chilling”.

He said: “This announcement from the Government’s Radioactive Waste Management organisation that their investigations show that a GDF is possible in places like the Mourne mountains beggars belief.

“Our areas of outstanding natural beauty and of significant environmental importance cannot become dumping grounds for British nuclear waste.

“We have been subjected to years of abnormal radioactive levels given our proximity to Sellafield and this news that Government agencies have been poking around our Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty to find holes for nuclear waste is beyond comprehension.

“I will be pursuing this matter in the coming weeks and asking Government departments, Ministers and officials for a reality check before any dire decisions are taken.”

Radioactive Waste Management (RMW) Ltd is the arms-length government company responsible for building the radioactive waste facility.

A spokesperson for the firm said 45 regions of the UK are included in their search for a site, adding: “At this stage, no host site for a geological disposal facility has been identified and no region is being targeted over another.

“Whilst the Northern Ireland Executive has previously supported geological disposal (in 2008 and 2014), any future policy decisions in relation to geological disposal in Northern Ireland remain a matter for the Northern Ireland Executive, which is currently suspended.

“In the continued absence of the Executive, no further commitments regarding the disposal of Radioactive Waste in Northern Ireland (including Newry), can be given.

“Accordingly, we can confirm that for the time being at least we will not pursue a siting process in Northern Ireland.”

A Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs spokesperson added: “There are no plans to site a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) in Northern Ireland.

“Any future policy decision on geological disposal in Northern Ireland would be a matter for the Executive, and subject to community agreement, and planning and environmental consents.”

But this has not allayed fears for the future.

Friends of the Earth Northern Ireland have described the inclusion of Northern Ireland at all as “plutonium fuelled madness” given the remaining paramilitary threat, the border with the Republic and the fact the dangerous waste will have to be ferried across the Irish Sea.

FOENI spokesperson Declan Allison said: “Plans to dispose of nuclear waste in Northern Ireland should be dumped. Shipping radioactive waste across the Irish Sea, then driving it along narrow country roads, to then store it underground for hundreds of thousands of years sounds like a plan conceived in a radiation addled brain.

“We’ve heard some terrible ideas before, but this is plutonium fuelled madness.

“Northern Ireland is already in the grip of a systemic failure of environmental protection. The Environment Agency is under resourced and over-worked, and lacks the experience or competency to deal with nuclear waste.

“Are we really to believe that NIEA can guarantee the safety of this dangerous waste for up to a million years?

“There is a profound generational injustice in this scheme. People not yet born will have to carry the burden of dealing with this toxic legacy. We cannot let that happen.”

Why is Northern Ireland included in the search?

High strength rocks such as granite have been identified as the best place to build a ‘Geological Disposal Facility’ for nuclear and radioactive waste, and have been found in five regions of Northern Ireland.

What is a Geological Disposal Facility?

A GDF is a permanent place to store the “higher activity” radioactive waste the UK has been producing for the past 60 years.

Have any decisions been made?

Radioactive Waste Management (RWM) Ltd is responsible for developing the GDF. A spokesperson said 45 locations across England, Northern Ireland and Wales are being considered but “a community must be willing to host it” as the policy is consent based. No decisions can be taken without the Northern Ireland Executive in place, so NI plans have been suspended “for the time being”.

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