Dear Friends

Apologies I know you know much of this…

The photo above is of Whitehaven Harbour with polluted acid minewater from old mines. Whitehaven you may remember is where the Nuclear Dump boss’s Coal Mine is due to start mining (unless!).  Mark Kirkbride the CEO of West Cumbria Mining is also the guy the government have hired to advise on Investigation Techniques for a deep hot nuclear dump (Geological Disposal Facility) -this petition to Save the Whale and the Snail was started because of the seismic blasting “investigation techniques.” Our campaign has been partially successful in halting seismic blasting in Allerdale and Lincolnshire.  

Kirkbride’s “investigation techniques” for his coal mine included driling over 4000 metres of boreholes into the hill above Whitehaven and down into the sea – the boreholes were then flushed with 240 litres of water a minute “to test the hydrology.” In an area already riddled with mines this would be a bit like jumping up and down on a rotten roof.  When Mark Kirkbride’s coal mine was approved by Government in Dec 2022, the old mines kind of had a massive hiccup and started gushing acid minewater into the harbour.

It is still gushing with no end in sight over one year on. From the harbour the polluted water flows into the Irish Sea and the Solway Firth. You would think that the local MP Trudy Harrison would be “on the case” and making sure this pollution was banner headlines but nope not a peep. There are vested interests. Trudy Harrison is a red hot supporter of West Cumbria Mining and New Nuclear – both of these industries are collaborating to dig very big holes (albeit the Nuclear Dump hole would be of a magnitude far greater than the Coal Hole). Drawing attention to the pollution from the old mines honeycombing the West Coast of Cumbria and Whitehaven in particular would undermine their very BIG hole plans for Coal and especially for Nuclear.

We have set up a crowdfund to raise funds aiming to do what the authorities have failed to do and find out exactly what is happening in order that this pollution can be stopped. Please do share and spread the word.  

With Many Thanks!

Marianne