SIR - The recent Breaking News item regarding nuclear waste trains passing through Worcester should surely have been filed under old news, as the timetables for such trains have been public knowledge for a number of years.
Greenpeace have again been stirring up unnecessary alarm about such trains, claiming an accident or terrorist attack could spread radiation over a wide area. Many years ago, a test was done whereby a standard nuclear flask was hit by a locomotive, weighing more than 120 tons travelling at 100mph. The loco hit the flask at its most vulnerable point - a corner - but the integrity of the outer shell remained intact.
Perhaps Greenpeace could put forward a credible scenario by which an accident would rupture both the outer shell and the inner containers of such flasks, or a means by which terrorists could breach them within a timescale that would not draw attention to what they were attempting.
If they can, I would be willing to become concerned about such trains. Meanwhile, find the regular journeys made by tankers carrying very noxious substances around our road networks a much greater cause for alarm.
A REECE,
Worcester.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article