The following letter has been sent to the Mid-Copeland Community Partnership (“partnership” led by industry/govnt promoting a deep hot nuclear dump aka Geological Disposal Facility). This letter was also sent to the press.
Send by email 10th June 2024
Dear Cllr Andy Pratt
I am writing to you in your role as Chair of the Mid-Copeland Community Geological Disposal Facility Partnership
We responded to the “open invitation” to have a stall at the Seascale Gala and were told that we would not be welcome with our quiz, art sessions and information stall as the day was being sponsored by the “’nuclear industry” and was a “fun day for kids” We note the stalls include the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, and political parties.
Last year 40 radioactive particles and objects were found on Sellafield beach. This is the area being used for a sandcastle competition by Seascale Brownies in an event sponsored by the Mid-Copeland Community GDF Partnership.
We urge you to cancel the sponsorship of activities involving children digging for hours on the beach.
If the Mid Copeland Community Partnership refuse to cancel the sandcastle competition then we urge you to at the very least give parents sight of the latest “Sellafield Particles in the Environment (1-Jan to 14-July 2023)” report which found: “During the period 1st January to 14th July 2023 a total area of 76 ha of the beaches along the Cumbrian coast were monitored against a programme target of 65 ha. A total of 59 particles and 2 larger objects were detected, recovered and analysed,” Of the 59 particles and 2 larger objects found, 39 of these were at Sellafield beach in the area being sponsored by the Mid-Copeland Community Partnership for a sand-castle competition. Most of the particles are “alpha rich” this means that if they are inhaled or ingested they will cause harm and most especially to children and pregnant women.
The advice from Public Health England is that the risk of encountering and ingesting an alpha rich particle is “low” and equivalent to other risks beach users take. However, a parent can see if a child is about to drown in a rock pool but cannot see the alpha rich particle being put into their child’s mouth or eyes.
The Seascale Gala is celebrating 175 years of the village. This celebration should recognise that 175 years ago a child making a sand sculpture would not risk encountering any alpha rich radioactive particles. After 70 years of Sellafield that is no longer the case and the Mid-Copeland GDF Community Partnership should acknowledge that fact and at least warn parents taking part in their sponsored sand sculpture competition that their child has a “low risk” of encountering radioactive wastes in the form of alpha rich particles and objects on the beach.
We recently had the silt at Whitehaven Harbour analysed and the results were horrifying.
The laboratory used was Eberline Analytical/Oak Ridge Laboratory USA
“Eberline Analyticals’ Oak Ridge laboratory utilizes state-of-the-art analytical techniques and laboratory equipment. Key personnel have over 100 years of combined technical experience in the nuclear industry.”
Eberline Analytical recieved the sample in the first week of May 2024 and we recieved a 65 page report back from them on 30th May 2024 (see attached). The report makes it clear that dangerous levels of Americium 241 are present in Queen’s Dock – this material can only have come from the nuclear industry and is also present on Seascale beach in “alpha rich” particles.
The calibration used by Eberline (page 16 -19 of their Report) includes the use of AM 243 which was 36.27 kBq/g. On page 44 of the report is a stark comparison. It would be expected that if Americium was present at all at Queen’s Dock (it should not be there at all) then the Am 241 would be a far smaller spike than the calibration isotope of Am 243. The visual illustrates that the spike from Whitehaven Am 241 is bigger ie it is higher than the calibration isotope of Am 243 at 36.27 kBq/g. The sample we provided to Eberline was a teaspoonful of dried silt.
The speed in which we got this analysis back from the laboratory is in stark contrast to Sellafield’s monitoring program which takes months and years to provide minimal information to the public.
Please warn the public in order to let the public make up their own minds whether they want their children to take the “low risk” of encountering highly dangerous radioactive particles.
yours sincerely
Marianne Birkby
Radiation Free Lakeland
CC
Nuclear Waste Services
Jacobs
The Hadfield Trust
RADIATION FREE LAKELAND 
The really sad part of all this is that no-one really cares, unfortunately the jobs are the sole priority. ________________________________
People are being conditioned not to care – nuclear is “clean” and “green” and the money oh the money – don’t mention the fact it is public money to things that should be funded with public money not filtered through the atomic horn of plenty