Local Press in Lincolnshire have published the following after recieving our press release and the leaked RWM report :
The Government Agency behind a potential nuclear waste dump site in Lincolnshire says its monitoring of daily social media chatter is only to help it understand people's views.
Radioactive Waste Management has identified the former Theddlethorpe Gas Terminal as a potential geological disposal facility where radioactive waste would be buried deep underground.
But people are concerned about safety, the future management of the waste and whether flooding or land erosion could destabilise the dump.
Campaign group Lakes Against Nuclear Dump has now issued a leaked briefing document from August 5 which it says appears to show RWM has hired a "behavioural science" firm to keep tabs on "independent conversations of those talking online about the deep nuclear dump plan".
The briefing mentions that a "Twitter commentator is back and usually gets engagement when they tweet about the issue" and includes a link to news of an estate agent's warning that house prices could fall.
Council leader says his initial contact with nuclear waste dump agency in 2019 was "a random chance encounter"
The document, which summarises comments from members of the public, continues: "Similar to Cumbria the [No Nuke Dump in Lincolnshire] group has found old 2018 reports they share to say the area is not suitable/should not be considered.
"Underground water and regular flooding continue to be key issues of concern: ‘Just copied and pasted this from the government report.
"It's saying that the nearby drilling may have disturbed ground water which makes the area less safe.
"Shouldn't the council have read this already? With this and the sea level rising and the impact on the nature reserve of sea defences and infrastructure it makes it look pretty unsuitable. I'm struggling to understand how it's even got to this stage.’."
The brief includes more on the narrative that talks have been happening ‘secretly’ for a while: "I see that Lincolnshire council first discussed this over two years ago.
"The tax paying, voting public were not informed until now.
"If Lincolnshire Live is accurate that is scandalous and needs further explanation/investigation."
The former Theddlethorpe Terminal has been identified as a potential nuclear waste dump
The paper states it is interesting to note the response from a member of the Facebook group: "It’s pretty naive to believe politicians need to tell the public about all the options they are exploring otherwise some important projects will never happen.
"Getting the disclosure timing right and managing the controversy is key.
"Presuming they are not lying about the public having the final vote in a referendum I can’t see the problem with councils exploring options without making announcements too early.
"That is what they do and I’d be very surprised if anyone loses their job over it.
"Focus on the key issue. Is Theddlethorpe the best site for the dump? No. Don’t waste your productive time getting indignant about non issues."
And the group admin responded: "‘Curiously, the voters of Lincolnshire keep voting for politicians who approve of nuclear power.
"And then they worry about nuclear waste arriving in their back yards."
Lakes Against Nuclear Dump has sent the leaked report to Lincolnshire County Council and East Lindsey District Council urging them to follow Cumbria County Council in excluding themselves from RWM's agenda for one or more or more underground dumps.
Marianne Birkby, from LAND, said it wants to see as much effort going into "genuinely containing the wastes on the Sellafield site as is going into monitoring people's conversations".
She added: "It is outrageous."
An RWM spokesperson. “All that is happening is that RWM is seeking to understand publicly and locally expressed views.
"This is a normal activity for many organisations and important in helping us understand local opinion.
"If a GDF were to go forward, there would be multiple opportunities over many years for members of the community to contribute their views.”
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