26 Jun 2024

Dear Friends,

The pollution from old mines continues to pour into Whitehaven harbour. Meanwhile the plans for a gargantuan sub-sea mine for nuclear waste – and a much smaller sub-sea mine for coal continue. These mines would be alongside the honeycomb of historic and now leaking mines already existing along the coast of the Lake District.

 With the help of a crowdfund campaign Radiation Free Lakeland commissioned 2 dowsers who have mapped the routes of the pollution sources.  We knew that there would be uranium and radon in the silt in the harbour as a result of the acid mine pollution gushing into the harbour from deep old mines –  but what the dowsers found was far in excess of anything expected.

Following the dowsing findings we sent a teaspoonful of dried silt to a top laboratory in the US.  They found that in the silt in Whitehaven harbour is a highly radioactive element called Americium 241 – this can only have come from the nuclear industry- how it got there- via the Irish Sea from Sellafield discharges or via the decades of nuclear waste transports through the Bransty tunnel – or both – remains to be tested.

The authorities have not tested the silt in Whitehaven harbour as part of their (minimal) harbour pollution investigations, maybe they knew what they would find.

Given the nature of the pollution I thought it prudent to contact the authorities first before sharing this information with you.  Parliamentary candidates for Cumbria have also been contacted so far only four have responded to say they would help raise the profile of what is happening in Whitehaven, this lack of concern regarding public health and the environment is shocking.

The press have also been contacted but equally shocking, they have so far remained schtum – there are powerful vested interests at play here with planned new coal mining and a far bigger mine proposed for sub-sea nuclear dumping.

Below is the letter sent to all Cumbrian parliamentary candidates and a press release..

This has all been produced thanks to those contributing to the crowdfund. The report and more information can be seen here https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/save-whitehaven-harbour/updates/211265#start

All best wishes

Marianne

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Dear Candidate

Congratulations for standing in the 2024 elections.

You will no doubt have heard about the campaign to Stop the Sewage in Windermere . Rather less media  and celebrity attention has been given to the ongoing pollution event happening in Whitehaven the beautiful Georgian harbour described as the Gateway to the Lakes.

Following a crowdfund campaign to Save Whitehaven Harbour we knew that there would likely be radon and uranium along with iron rich acid mine pollution coming from deep mines now gushing visible orangey red pollution into the harbour but what we found was far worse.   Not poo but far more insidious Pu – that is Americium 241 (AM241) a decay product of plutonium (Pu).

The story behind this is outlined in the Press Release below sent out this week to local and national press.

If your campaign for the 2024 is successful will you stand with those asking for action on the ongoing pollution event in Whitehaven?

Folk, especially children using Whitehaven harbour should be warned about the public health and marine impacts from the ongoing pollution event. Would you be prepared to stand against vested nuclear and mining interests to warn the public?

If the warning is not sounded this pollution event,  far more serious and most certainly with longer lasting impacts than sewage pollution, WILL continue unabated.   It is beyond time to stand up for Whitehaven harbour, public health and the marine life of the Irish Sea and Solway Firth.

Yours sincerely

Marianne Birkby

Radiation Free Lakeland

PRESS RELEASE

Americium was first said to be discovered from Plutonium (Pu) in the year 1945. The discovery was announced by well-known chemist Glenn Seaborg who also discovered Pu along with his colleagues.

Top US Laboratory Finds Dangerous Levels of Americium 241 in Queen’s Dock, Whitehaven

A volunteer nuclear safety group has carried out tests into the ongoing pollution event at Queen’s Dock, Whitehaven. Red coloured acid minewater has been pouring into the beautiful Georgian harbour since December 2022.  Tests were carried out following a Crowdfund campaign which stated we are “raising funds for investigations into pollution. Data will be collected from sources including dowsing and sediment tests in a laboratory.”  

Marianne Birkby who founded the nuclear safety group Radiation Free Lakeland said: “Radon and uranium were expected to be found as the pollution is coming from deep mines.  But commissioned dowsers who carried out investigations on the route and toxicity of the pollution both remotely and onsite found that there were far more dangerous levels of radioactivity than expected. Following their advice we sent a sample of silt for analysis to a laboratory.  It is clear that as well as the expected huge levels of iron and the presence of other substances associated with acid mine water such as cadmium, ammonia, and other metals including nickel (as found in the Environment Agency’s own limited tests) there is another substance, Americium 241. This radio-toxic substance in the harbour silt should not be there in any quantities let alone the dangerous levels found by a world leader in nuclear analysis, Eberline Analytical Laboratory in the U.S.”

Campaigners say that the presence of AM241 is a public health hazard as well as impacting marine life. The AM241 present in Whitehaven silt has activity higher than the U.S. laboratory’s calibration isotope of Am 243 at 36.27 kBq/g. The sample provided to Eberline was a teaspoonful of dried silt from the harbour bed.  It was packaged securely with the outer packaging measured with a dosimeter in order to protect postal workers.  

Radiation Free Lakeland have sent their report and the report from the U.S. laboratory to all the authorities tasked with finding the routes and sources of the pollution in Queen’s Dock.  The Office for Nuclear Regulation has replied saying: “Thank you very much for making us aware of the analysis results. Given that the samples were taken around Queens Dock, Whitehaven Harbour, the Environment Agency is the lead regulator in this instance.  Please contact the Environment Agency who will respond to any concerns you may have.”

 

ENDS