THE Stop Hinkley campaign has slammed the idea that lorries could carry nuclear waste through the area to the Hinkley Point A site.

Proposals are currently being discussed by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority to send contaminated containers from three other nuclear power stations in the UK to Hinkley Point A near Bridgwater.

The group says that the skips would be sent for decontamination and storage with the thin outside layer of the contaminated steel removed from the containers and the parts that could not be decontaminated stored on site.

In addition, other low-level waste would be also be stored at the site.

Roy Pumfrey, from action group Stop Hinkley, believes that the move is a turnaround and that the public should know.

“It seems rather odd that to save money, Hinkley is being used as a dump,” he added.

“It is a colossal expenditure to have Hinkley anyway and it’s unnecessary to have radioactive waste driven through our streets.

“The estimated amount of money that they’re going to save needs to be taken with a pinch of salt.”

“I’m sure the lorries will be secure but hauling waste around is an unnecessary risk,” added Roy.

“It may not even be many lorries but why can’t it be stored where the waste is produced?

“And where will the waste be stored long term?

A spokesman for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority said: “It’s our proposal that we are going to put forward to a planning meeting in the new year.

“It’s just a proposal right now, but it will go ahead if we get planning permission and environmental permission.

“There’s already been a trial that was very successful and I wouldn’t want to say it’s only a vague idea- it’s a very concrete proposal.”

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority is responsible for managing the effective and efficient clean-up of the UK’s nuclear legacy.

This includes the first generation of “Magnox” power stations, various research and fuel facilities, and the largest and most complex site at Sellafield.

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority is the body tasked with implementing government policy on higher activity radioactive waste, and the low-level waste strategy.

A spokesperson for Magnox, who oversee Hinkley A, said: "Magnox has undertaken a review of its waste strategy across the estate to develop a revised strategy which builds on previous stakeholder engagement, takes in account safety and environmental impacts and which has the potential to provide £200m of savings to the UK taxpayer, compared with the existing baseline.

"As a result of the revised strategy, Magnox intends to move a small volume of waste from three of our sites to Hinkley.

"We believe this approach will make the best use of our available and planned assets, maximise environmental benefits by recycling as much metal as practicable and save the tax-payer money.

"Our plans do not compromise safety, security or the environment and are subject to planning consents. We will continue to talk to stakeholders about our plans as they progress."