shutsellafield.com

~ ~ Those of you who have read my opinion on “Nuclear Power” in the Ciao Café category will already be aware of the fact that I am a vociferous opponent of the use of nuclear power to generate electricity.
For those of you that haven’t read the opinion, the main gist of it is that I honestly believe that there are many potential and viable alternatives sources of energy that could be developed and used (wind/wave/hydroelectric/geothermal, etc) instead of this highly dangerous and lethal form of generating electrical power.
The issue is a very emotive one here in the Republic of Ireland, which has been my home now for over twenty years. This is because our coastline is only sixty miles or so from the nuclear reprocessing plant now called Sellafield (used to be called Windscale) in Cumbria, England, and if there were to be a nuclear accident/incident of any significant nature at this plant, then Ireland would almost certainly become a nuclear desert for many thousands of years, and countless thousands of our citizens would both die and suffer serious illness.

~ ~ Respective Irish Governments have been making representations to their counterparts in the UK for many years in an attempt to have Sellafield closed down for good, but their pleas appear to have been falling on deaf ears.
Now a huge campaign has been instigated here in Ireland by none other than Ali Hewson, the wife of world famous rock singer Bono from the fantastic Irish band ‘U2’, to bring to the attention of the British Government the amount of opposition that exists here to the continued existence of Sellafield.
Ali Hewson has been very active in this field since 1993, when she produced a TV documentary called ‘Black Winds, White Lands’ about the nuclear disaster that struck the unfortunate people of the Ukraine and Belarus, when the accident at the nuclear plant at Chernobyl irradiated the entire area (and vast tracks of the rest of Europe) with lethal radioactive fallout.
Along with Adi Roche, an ex-Presidential candidate here in Ireland, she became a patron of the Chernobyl Children's Project, and over the years has visited the disaster area on many occasions, bringing much needed relief and aid to the unfortunate population. She has also brought many of the children who were so badly affected by this incident over here to Ireland, where they have received medical treatment for their conditions that would not have been available in their homeland.

~ ~ Now a poster and postcard campaign has been started to highlight the dangers of Sellafield, and to put pressure on the UK to finally do something about Sellafield before it is too late.
A fantastic and informative website has been set up to inform the public of what the campaign hopes to achieve, and to tell them how they can play their part in helping to close the potential death machine that is Sellafield.
Here’s the link.

http://www.shutsellafield.com

Before I go on to describe the site and the campaign in a bit more detail, I think it would be worthwhile to quote the words of Ali Hewson herself, taken from the website.

'I’ve always felt strongly opposed to Sellafield', comments Hewson.
'It is 60 miles away from the Irish coast. It is pumping 2 million gallons of radioactive liquid waste into the Irish Sea every day, making the Irish Sea the most radioactive sea in the world. If an accident happens at the plant, or if there is a terrorist attack, depending on which way the wind blows, Dublin, Dundalk, Drogheda, Belfast, and vast parts of Ireland, would be uninhabitable. Forever.
As a patron of the Chernobyl Children's Project for the last seven years, I feel there are strong comparisons between the situation in Belarus and our own. Belarus is like Ireland in many respects. Like Ireland, they did not ask for a nuclear plant to be built beside them, but when the accident happened at Chernobyl in the Ukraine, the wind blew 70% of the fallout onto Belarus. If an accident happens at Sellafield, that is exactly what could happen to us.'

~ ~ Everyone here in Ireland (and elsewhere) who feels strongly about this issue is being urged to buy three postcards at the cost of IR£1 (€1.27) each, and to post them to Tony Blair, Norman Askew, (the head of British Nuclear Fuels) and to Prince Charles. Each postcard carries a powerful message of protest about Sellafield. For example, the one for Tony Blair reads, “Tony. Look me in the eye and tell me I’m safe”, along with a large image of an eye itself on the card.
But my words don’t really do the cards justice, so you should click on the site, and have a look at them for yourself.
The cards are being sold online at the website, and through various outlets here in the Republic, and schoolchildren are showing their support by selling them through their schools to friends and relatives.
All the cards will be posted before the 19th April, and the postal service here in Ireland will then deliver them in bulk on Friday, 26th April, the 16th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster.
All the money raised from this venture is being channelled back into the Chernobyl Children's Project.
The postcard campaign is being backed by a massive poster campaign here in Ireland, carrying the same message, and urging people to back the project.
The site has a Guestbook, where people can register their name and address, and leave a short message of support. All these will then also be emailed to Tony Blair.
There’s a page describing the history of Sellafield itself in a bit more detail, and showing why it is imperative for us here in Ireland that this plant is closed down as soon as possible. It makes interesting (if frightening) reading!

~ ~ Another page is devoted to the world’s worst ever nuclear disaster at Chernobyl, giving all the relevant facts, figures, and information. You can also view some pretty harrowing pictures of the poor, unfortunate children of the area, that I challenge you to be unmoved by. (I warn you, they’re not pleasant!)
Yet another page gives all the required information to schools on how they can best participate in this massive campaign, and suggests projects for the children themselves to undertake.
Many Irish showbiz and media celebrities are also backing this campaign, such as Samantha Mumba, Ronan Keating, Pat Kenny, Ronnie Drew, Louis Walsh, and many others.
The media here in Ireland have really taken to this imaginative and innovative effort, and there’s a link telling you of all the media coverage it has achieved so far.

~ ~ I personally back this campaign all the way, and take my hat off to Ali Hewson and Adi Roche for their courage and non-stop effort to save the people of our “Fair Isle” from the same fate as befell the innocents out in the Ukraine and Belarus. If you agree with me, I urge you to also back the campaign, and send a postcard to Tony Blair, Prince Charles, and Norman Askew.
It’s NOT just an Irish problem, you know. It’ll kill you just as effectively over in the UK!!