SEPA report provides ‘reassurance for communities’ after Chernobyl contamination fears
Concerns that groundworks for major renewable projects in the Highlands could be exposing radioactive contamination from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster have been allayed after Scotland’s environmental regulator found no realistic risk to human health.
A study was carried out by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) after fears were raised by a campaign group earlier this year. The findings “should provide reassurance to local communities”, according to the industry body Scottish Renewables.
In May, Communities B4 Power Companies called for an urgent investigation after highlighting what it considered to be “very serious health risks” and “potential legal repercussions” as a result of digging up areas of deep peat to install pylons and turbines.
CB4PC commissioned a report into potential Caesium-137 contamination of peatlands in the region by fallout from the 1986 explosion in Ukraine, in what was then the Soviet Union. The group warned that Cs-137 is “harmful to human beings and animals” and can be released into the atmosphere and waterways during excavation.
The group noted that “large parts of the Highlands and Islands were subjected to some of the heaviest fallout from Chernobyl across the UK”, adding: “Our analysis shows that there is every reason to expect that this radioactive material remains beneath the surface of Highland peatland areas. Once exposed to air and rain it can become dangerous to health.”
SEPA has now published a report entitled Radioactivity and Wind Farm Developments on Peatlands. It concludes: “SEPA does not regard… potential resuspension of buried Cs-137 and other radionuclides arising from global deposition on peatlands in Scotland to pose a realistic risk to human health.”
Morag Watson, director of onshore at Scottish Renewables, said: “SEPA’s findings are clear and should provide reassurance to local communities. Renewable energy projects are heavily scrutinised during the planning process for the benefit of local communities and our precious natural environment.
“Renewable energy projects are already delivering tangible environmental gains. Under the Scottish onshore wind sector deal, they are subject to rigorous habitat and peatland management plans and have committed to achieving biodiversity net gain.
“In many cases, the level of ecological restoration supported by renewable energy developers exceeds what could be achieved through public funding alone.
“Scotland’s renewable energy industry will continue to play a key role in restoring natural habitats and tackling the most serious threat to Scotland’s biodiversity which is climate change.”