COST OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL HIGHLIGHTS FLAWS OF NEW NUCLEAR POWER - HUHNE

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 25th Jun 2007

The Government's search for an area to volunteer itself to take radioactive waste highlights why the Government should be wary of building a new generation of nuclear power plants, the Liberal Democrats said today.

Commenting on the Government's consultation launched today on trying to find sites for deep geological disposal of nuclear waste, Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Secretary, Chris Huhne MP said:

"The fact that the Government is still only at the beginning of the process to find a safe way, at great cost, of disposing of our existing nuclear waste shows why we should be wary of a new generation of nuclear plants.

"The cost of existing nuclear waste disposal is now put at more than £70 billion. It is a basic rule that you shouldn't go into things without knowing how to get out of them."