Author Avatar

Update: EDF’s mud dump at Hinkley Point

Posted by Flo Stuart-Leach - 28th March 2018


Hinkley Point B Power Station on the North Somerset coast.

A few months ago we asked you to help us get some answers from EDF about the muddy waste they were planning to dump in the Severn Estuary. The dumping point was just a couple of miles from Cardiff – and the mud was being cleared to make way for a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point, Somerset.

We were concerned that the mud could be toxic and demanded that EDF respond to our concerns. So we asked you to help, and I’m delighted to say that over 109,000 of you helped make sure EDF got the message.

EDF’s response 

Together, our speedy response put pressure on EDF to respond. Here’s what they said:

“We have undertaken a number of assessments as part of this application which concluded the activities pose no threat to human health or the environment.

All activities on our sites are strictly controlled and regulated by a number of statutory bodies to ensure the environment and public are protected.”

The Welsh government are now questioning the dumping plans again. This means, for now at least, we won’t be taking any further action, but we will be keeping a close eye on the situation and be ready to act if needed.

Why we’re against nuclear

Nuclear power produces nuclear waste at every stage of the process which remains hazardous for hundreds of thousands of years. Nuclear energy stores up problems for generations and generations to come.

While nuclear energy is CO2 free, nuclear reactors simply take far too long to build for them to have any significant impact on climate change. And apart from anything else, it’s horribly expensive. Hinkley Point is being called the “most expensive object on Earth” and hasn’t even started to produce energy yet, while other renewable sources like offshore wind are actually cheaper and more reliable.

Get behind the campaign to stop Hinkley altogether: add your name to our petition > 

*This blog was amended on the 21 August 2018 to correct an error relating to the unknown toxicity levels of the mud. Furthermore, it is Greenpeace’s position that Hinkley Point C should not be built and consequently there is no need to move the mud anywhere.


Article Tagged as: Uncategorized