Representation by Gill Clare
- Date submitted
- 29 September 2020
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
The proposed construction and operation of Sizewell C will harm large areas of marine environment. Greater Sizewell Bay extends northwards from Blyth Piers, southwards to near Thorpeness, and out to sea to the eastern flank of the Sizewell-Dunwich Bank. Each of the two planned EPRTM reactors need large volumes of cooling water to condense steam. This cooling water would be drawn from the sea, passed through condensers and then returned at a typical rate of 132m3 per second, approximately 3km out to sea from the site. Major impacts on the environment from discharge of the cooling water will be heat, and chlorination for biofouling control. When the reactors are operating at full power the cooling water will be returned to sea at a temperature around 11.6°C higher than ambient. A fish recovery and return system would be installed, but moribund biota would be discharged. The calculated decaying biomass between is seasonal at 1065.5 kg per day (December to April) reducing to 405 kg per day (April to September). This would mostly comprise fish such as herrings and sprats, possibly affecting local fishermen’s livelihoods. Trade and sanitary effluents, including radioactive material, will be released with the sea water. According to SZC’s calculations, many of the toxic chemicals in the effluents will be likely to be discharged at concentrations exceeding their environmental quality standard (EQS) or reference value, and will rely on dilution. Suffolk prides itself on its coastal towns and Areas of Outstanding natural beauty but there are no blue flag beaches between Norfolk and Felixstowe. SZC state that the nearest designated bathing waters are at Southwold and Felixstowe, approximately 10km and 35km distant, respectively. SZC predict that the sewage output and treatment will reduce the concentrations of faecal indicator organisms to be compatible with bathing at Southwold and Felixstowe, i.e. not for other beaches such as Dunwich, Sizewell, Thorpeness and Aldeburgh, where people regularly swim. Human sewage contains pharmaceuticals, some of which are especially toxic to certain marine organisms. SZC asserts that the radioactive discharge into the sea will not exceed the limits proposed and will represent a trivial risk to wildlife, quoting the nearest designated areas for shell fish as Butley Creek, about 44m south from Sizewell. Notably, the proposed annual liquid limits for Cobalt60 and Caesium137 exceed the annual expected best performance by about 17 fold. Crabs, lobsters, shell-fish and fish are caught and sold locally. Contamination of fish, shellfish and crustaceans by human sewage, toxic chemicals and radionuclides could be exacerbated by bio-accumulation and bio-magnification. New hard coastal defence and a beach landing facility will involve driving piles and dredging to maintain access. This could affect the patterns of erosion and accretion and will affect benthic species. The current proposals do not sufficiently address, avoid, minimise or mitigate the total, cumulative adverse impacts on the marine environment. No compensatory measures are proposed. If a similar area of land was treated in the same way, there would be public outrage.