By Professor John Robertson, OBA

Thanks to JB for researching this.

Hunterston B Nuclear power station, in North Ayrshire, Scotland, was in operation for nearly 45 years, from February 1976 until November 2021.¹

In that time, there will have been around 30 re-fuelling instances² and up to 300 inspections.³

During these events, there are spikes of radioactive emissions. Researchers in Germany, published this in 2011:

According to the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) in Germany, the normal emission concentration during the rest of the year is about 3 kBq/m³, but during inspection/refuelling (in the afternoon and evening of September 22nd) this concentration abruptly increased to ~700 kBq/m³ with a peak of 1,470 kBq/m³. In the following days (September 22nd – 29th), the concentrations of released radioactive noble gases were still much higher (average = 100 kBq/m³) than during normal power operation.

In order to refuel, reactor pressure vessels must be opened which releases to the local environment very large volumes of radioactive gases and vapours, including noble gases, H-3 (tritium),  carbon-14, and iodine-131.  Until now, the nuclide amounts were only published as annual averages throughout the world. Now, after requests by IPPNW and the Green Party in the Bavarian State Parliament (Landtag), non-averaged values have been made available for scientific evaluation for the very first time anywhere in the world.⁴

What consequences might there be from these spikes, 500 times the supposed safe level, over several days, for the population around nuclear power stations such as Hunterston B in North Ayrshire or, indeed from any new installations if UK Labour gets its way on this?

From Dr Ian Fairlie in 2014:

On 23rd August, The Ecologist published very clear evidence of increased cancers among children living near nuclear power stations around the world, including the UK.

The story sparked much interest on social media sites, and perhaps more importantly, the article’s scientific basis (published in the academic peer-reviewed scientific journal the Journal of Environmental Radioactivity) was downloaded over 500 times by scientists.

Given this level of interest and the fact that the UK government is still pressing ahead with its bizarre plans for more nuclear stations, we return to this matter – and examine in more detail an important aspect which has hitherto received little attention: massive spikes in radioactive emissions from nuclear reactors.⁵

What is the evidence, specifically for Ayrshire and other parts of Scotland upwind of Hunterston B?

I can find no precise, local data, but from Public Health Scotland, in 2023:

The rate, or risk, of new cancers [in Scotland] also increased to 644 per 100,000. ⁶

The average level of cancer cases in Europe is only 280 per 100 000 compared with 640 in Scotland. In North America, it’s 364.7 and in Oceania (Australia, NZ), it’s 409. ⁷

Scotland is clearly the cancer capital of the world. Why is that not news?

And England, most of it further way from Sellafield and Trident than most Scots are? From the Gov UK site, the rate is 540 per 100 000,⁸ also very high globally but significantly lower than in Scotland at 640.

And before you say it – Scots smoke more? No they don’t.

15% of Scots smoke.⁹ Fewer than in most European countries.¹⁰

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunterston_B_nuclear_power_station
2. https://nuclear.duke-energy.com/2016/03/23/out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new-fuel/#:~:text=How%20often%20are%20nuclear%20plants%20refueled%3F%20Most%20nuclear,it%20minimizes%20the%20impact%20to%20the%20electricity%20grid.
3. https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/oversight.html#:~:text=Each%20year%2C%20NRC%20specialists%20conduct%2010%20to%2025,at%20the%20plants%20and%20issues%20that%20may%20occur.
4. https://www.ippnw.eu/en/nuclear-energy-and-security/artikel/85877f0d9c07a9c13e7729feef095980/spikes-of-radioactive-emissions-dur.html
5. https://theecologist.org/2014/sep/29/radioactive-spikes-nuclear-plants-likely-cause-childhood-leukemia
6. https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/cancer-incidence-in-scotland/cancer-incidence-in-scotland-to-december-2021
7. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Cancer_statistics#Deaths_from_cancer
8. https://www.statista.com/statistics/312961/new-cancer-cases-rate-england-age-gender/#:~:text=Cancer%20is%20an%20aggregation%20of,excluding%20non%2Dmelanoma%20skin%20cancer
9. https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-health-survey-2022-volume-1-main-report/pages/11/#:~:text=As%20noted%20above%2C%20in%202022,%25%20and%2013%25%20respectively).
10. https://www.euronews.com/health/2023/08/14/smoking-in-europe-which-countries-are-the-most-and-least-addicted-to-tobacco-and-vaping#:~:text=According%20to%20data%20compiled%20by,smoked%20fewer%20than%2020%20units.