PROPOSED NUCLEAR POWER STATION AT ST FRANCIS BAY IS A REALITY

PROPOSED NUCLEAR POWER STATION AT ST FRANCIS BAY IS A REALITY AND THE EIA PROCESS IS MOVING ON QUICKLY

(See email below and Executive Summary attached)

THE COMMUNITY NEED TO VOICE THEIR CONCERNS AND OBJECTIONS

TO OBJECT PLEASE CIRCULATE THIS AND DO THE FOLLOWING:

Please send your objections directly to Acer Africa: nuclear1@acerafrica.co.za by the 10 May 2010

Please copy nonukestfrancis@gmail.com

Attend the Public meeting at the Links Golf Course on Thursday, 15 April from 18.00 – 20.00

Objections could include the following concerns:

Negative impact on the marine and terrestrial Biological and Physical Environment

Irreversible change to nature of the area and ”sense of place”

Visual Impact of structure which is up to 95 m high and lights which will be visible from Rocky Coast / Wild Side

Visual Impact of 5 sets of 50m pylons for Transmission lines

Construction Phase lasting 9 years and its associated impacts

- Transporting 6000 workers to site on a daily basis

- Continuous transporting heavy loads and exceptionally heavy loads from PE via Humansdorp through St Francis

- Influx of workers, job seekers, and associated negative social impacts

- Housing and municipal services required for 6000 workers

Health and safety in respect of Nuclear Power Plant and associated emissions into the air and water.

Storage of High Level Raidoactive Waste on site

Disaster and Emergency Response and Escape

Confusing information around Eskom’s capacity to fund the project

Confusion around public participation process and high level of technical expertise required to make contribution to process

Since Health, Safety and Risk Issues to be taken through the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) when will those public meetings be held

From: Mike Kantey [mailto:mike.kantey@gmail.com]

As you are reading this, you will be in the middle of a Draft Environmental Impact Report, which actively promotes Thyspunt as the ideal site for a 4 000-MW nuclear power plant.

When you wonder what that means, think about the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station (KNPS) in Cape Town and then multiply by two.

For those readers who are not familiar with the location of Thyspunt, it lies to the west of Cape St Francis, under a day’s walk along the rocks.

And when the wind blows, the radio-toxic emissions from the future plant will drift across your homes and beaches.

When the waves roll in, they will be contaminated by Strontium-90, a radioactive daughter product of nuclear fission which you cannpt see, taste, or smell. When entering through the food chain, Strontium-90 gets taken up in the bone marrow of the femur and causes leukemias, lymphomas and birth defects — for generations. Strontium-90 has a half-life of 28 years, which means that it takes about two hundred years to become harmless.

The airborne emissions contain Cesium-137 — the stuff that caused the most long-term damage from Chernobyl — with a half-life of 30 years. Cesium-137 likes to go where the dairy cows go, so all dairy product from the substantive farms of Kouga Municipality will become contaminated. Cesium-137 mostly causes breast cancers among women.

Thyspunt was encouraged as a site by the managers at Coega, but is now being supported by environmental and engineering consultants Arcus Gibb. Deadline for submissions and objections is 10 May 2010.