
Before sunrise at 06:51 this morning the day’s first consignment of ‘nuclear mud’ was being dumped in the sea off the Penarth foreshore – leaving a long slick on the surface of the water
Before sunrise this morning the day’s first consignment of allegedly radioactive mud from the Hinkley Point nuclear complex was being dumped just over a mile off the Penarth sea-front .
Making this morning’s dawn delivery was the Belgian hopper MV Pagadder.

The Belgian mud-boat Pagadder opens her bowels and another 2000 tonnes of pollution is dumped in Welsh waters – leaving a distinctive sheen on the surface of the sea
The ship manoeuvred to the Southern extremity of the triangular-shaped dumping area a point a short distance South East of the North Cardiff Buoy.

Marine Chart of the waters off Penarth sea front. The triangular area of “Spoil Grounds” is East of the North Cardiff Buoy
As Pagadder dumped her 2,000 tonne cargo of mud and clay extracted from the shores of the Hinkley Point nuclear power complex in Somerset, she left a long reflective sheen on the surface of the water
Meanwhile there is to be another demonstration by the campaign against the mud-dumping outside the Welsh Assembly building in Cardiff Bay at 18:00 tonight.
The photographer must have a severe insomnia issue.
its the radiation keeping him awake
Yes but we residents won’t forget this when Labour candidates next offer themselves for election
No knowledge of depth of field shortening either.
howard keels ghost?
All I would say is how can we, genuinely, get to the truth regarding the “risks” and the “alleged radioactivity” of this mud? It could be political scaremongering rather than fact! All I ask is how can we get to the real truth of the matter?
Public opinion counts for nothing!
Such a shame that a campaign for peoples health and welfare has been hijacked by the ‘Yes’ for Independent Wales mob who have photo bombed all and any photo opportunity on the subject with their flags and other paraphanalia. They’re probably too dull to realise ( or don’t care anyway) that many decent respectable people are not prepared to associate with their overtly political gesturing on a subject in which partisan politics should be kept away in the greater public interest.
May be a good idea to let people on this website that then as it was Labour and Conservative who allowed this to happen not just Labour
*Know
I don’t doubt we all will if this carries on.
And your point was Peterkins ?
Our campaign against Hinkley nuclear mud being dumped in Welsh waters is the Morning Star’s campaign of the week! The Labour Welsh government really must cancel the shameful licence they granted #GeigerBay @M_Star_Online https://t.co/b1kOnlWL4N
A plug for the Morning Star on here. That’s something I never thought I’d never see.
Protest today. 6pm. National Assembly for Wales.
No nuclear mud! Dim mwd niwclear!
#GeigerBay https://t.co/MvsPMkY5tZ
If the mud is really radioactive, then the damage is already done even if dumping were stopped tomorrow. Unfortunately it may take decades for the true environmental effects to show up, by which time the key players in this travesty will be long forgotten.
If it’s really radioactive, then it’s been just a few miles away, and slopping up and down in the tide at Weston-super-Mare and Burnham on Sea etc for 25 years at least.
Slight case of nimbtyism here.
Again, Penarthur. The mud has been disturbed at depth having been excavated and is now exposing the environment to who knows what as it has not been tested at those depths. You wouldn’t do this with suspected asbestos containing material so why has this lassaiz faire approach been taken with mud that is suspected of containing radioactive material.
John, if you read the reports on the testing, less radiation was found the deeper the tests went, with none below a depth of I think 2.4m, as this mud has not been exposed to any discharges.
Please feel free to explain how you think this common sense explanation infers some kind of conspiracy theory.
They won’t …..
Its outrageous in every sense of the word , local politicians who have not stood up for the people they represent but bowed to the 3 foreign countries involved instead , France , China , and Belgium shame on them. Can we have the next removal of radioactive sludge from a nuclear power station dumped somewhere off the south of France coast? Its not much further than Welsh waters and would show us all how save this sludge really is. And one should really ask HOW DARE THESE FOREIGN COUNTRIES TAKE SLUDGE FROM AN ENGLISH POWER STATION AND TRESPASS INTO WELSH TERRITORIAL WATERS TODUMP IT WITHOUT ANY CONCERN AT ALL . May we know if those people dumping the sludge are wearing protective clothing whilst doing the dumping . this will prove how ‘SAFE OR DANGEROUS the stuff is. Maybe some small boats could go out to capture some photos of them so we can all be reassured how safe everything is.!?
Andrew, in the real world, the south of France is a lot more than 15 miles away.
And the dredgers came from Belgium or farther afield so your point is what Penarthur????
Apart from recognising that some 160 odd trips will be needed to dump 320,000 tonnes of music, as opposed to one trip from Belgium, not much.