Why nuclear power isn't the green energy solution you've been told

The National

30-05-2025

Instead, energy policy has become a political football with outrageous dishonesty about the real environmental consequences and financial costs of nuclear power. Nigel Farage, Tony Blair and, sadly, some Scottish political representatives are contributing to the false narratives that only building nuclear power stations will save us from future energy crises and that nuclear power is 'green' or carbon neutral.
Encouraged by persistent, well-funded charm offensives by the nuclear industry, pro-nuclear narratives are repeated with vehement conviction, ignoring counter-evidence. Pro-nuclear political leaders may also be motivated by their wish to support Britain's capacity to build nuclear bombs.
Even setting aside this deadly link, however, there are injustices, harms and risks that contradict the supposed attractiveness of nuclear.
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The mining and milling of uranium, the main nuclear fuel, leaves contaminated water and soil, and ill health, historically often without buy-in from or benefit to local people. Hence, the many indigenous campaigns against uranium mining in Africa, Australia, Canada and the USA.
The green claim ignores the carbon footprint of this mining, and the milling and construction that involves extraordinary amounts of concrete, the manufacture of which significantly contributes to climate change.
Moreover, the nuclear cycle ends with various levels of radioactive nuclear waste that must be kept secure for the decades, hundreds and even thousands of years it remains hazardous to health.
There are also ignored everyday harms in their operation. Nuclear plants are by the sea or rivers because their reactors are cooled by water as well as gas. When sucking up water can kill millions of living creatures. They also routinely emit small amounts of ionising radiation within supposedly 'safe' levels.
However, scientists agree any additional ionising radiation causes harm in some circumstances. For example, X-rays are avoided in pregnancy because ionising radiation risks harm to the foetus. Women, girls and all infants are more susceptible to ionising radiation than adult males.
Spikes of ionising radiation are produced when fuel rods are removed and cooling gas released into the atmosphere (as happens, for example, when sucked-up jellyfish force Torness to make an unplanned shut-down). Such peaks in radiation are concealed in the annual statistics but any pregnant woman or infant who happens to be locally downwind at the time is at heightened risk of harm.
Then there is the downplayed risk of accidents. This may be a tiny risk, but the consequences of a Chernobyl or Fukushima-type accident are catastrophic. Similarly, war or a terrorist attack could lead to a disaster enormously more serious than the loss of electricity.
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None of this is resolved with smaller and purportedly cheaper modular nuclear reactors – which create the same pollution, waste and risk. Generating electricity from renewables is a cheaper and faster way to make the necessary switch from fossil fuels than nuclear.
There are political decisions regarding electricity costs, which include a government levy to pay for the infrastructure required by new renewables.
Meanwhile, the large contributions the Government pays towards the costs of decommissioning nuclear power stations come from our pocket through taxes rather than our electricity bills.
In the UK, the price of electricity also diverges from the cost of its generation because the Government tolerates a market system of trading, called 'marginal pricing' which sets the overall cost by the most expensive method in the mix.
In the last quarter of 2024, the mix was about half renewables: wind 31%, biomass 14%, solar and hydro power 4%; about 30% from burning gas, and about 10% nuclear. Despite this balance, the wholesale cost of gas has typically set the overall price since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
There are more flexible alternatives to nuclear when wind and sun are unavailable. Nuclear power plants cannot be switched off when demand for electricity drops because it takes days to safely power down a nuclear power station.
Currently, when electricity generation risks exceeding demand, wind farms have to be switched off to allow nuclear power plants to keep running.
All forms of energy generation involve environmental impact in their materials, construction, operation and decommissioning and some risks to human health.
Nuclear power is particularly harmful, as well as historically linked to injustice and interconnected with weapons of mass destruction.
Your voice and pen are needed to tell your political representatives, whatever party you support, 'nuclear power, no thanks' – go back to the evidence and seek a just energy policy for people and planet.
Lynn Jamieson is chair of the Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament