A NEW call has come from anti-nuclear protesters to shut down the aging Oldbury nuclear power station on the east shore of the Severn.
The Welsh Anti-Nuclear Alliance is calling a public meeting with expert speakers on the subject at Chepstow Leisure Centre on Friday February 23 at 7.30pm.
"Despite internal documents that predict imminent failure of parts of the reactor core, BNFL want to keep the aging Oldbury nuclear power station running for another 12 years," say the protesters.
"They are using an experimental fuel with up to three times the present concentration of uranium 235. For safety's sake, we say shut it down now."
Speakers include Hugh Richards of the alliance, Richard Bramhall of the Low Level Radiation Campaign, Mike German, the Lib-Dem leader in the Welsh Assembly, MEP Jill Evans and Jim Duffy, the Stop Hinkley coordinator.
Among arguments for closing the station are the fact that it was designed in 1967 to last a mere 20 years, parts of the plant are sinking and putting pressure on its structure, and the new Magrox fuel is largely experimental and untried.
"Three million people live within 35 miles of Oldbury, but there is no emergency planning except for people living near the station," says the alliance.