MORE than 5000 people have signed a petition against the dumping of potentially radioactive mud in the waters off the Vale of Glamorgan coast.

The petition calls for a licence to dump the mud from Hinkley Point nuclear reactor in the waters off south Wales to be suspended.

Under Assembly rules, the National Assembly will now have to debate suspending the licence in a full plenary meeting.

Following an application made in August 2012, a marine licence was granted in July 2014 by NRW to NNB Genco, a subsidiary of EDF Energy, to dispose of dredged materials from the site.

The petition was established by marine radiation expert Tim Deere-Jones after Neil McEvoy AM exposed the plans in the National Assembly.

Welsh Government cabinet secretary for the environment Lesley Griffiths AM recently stated all licences are granted within legal requirements. But Vale council leader Cllr John Thomas has expressed his concerns at the proposal.

Cabinet authorised him to write to the Welsh Government and Natural Resources Wales to voice the authority’s concerns and request a meeting.

Cllr Thomas’ argued that the radiological assessment was not adequate and said a more thorough one ought to be carried out.

But Mr McEvoy says there are significant concerns that the mud has not been properly tested. The licence was signed without an Environmental Impact Assessment and without full involvement on Natural Resources Wales, the environmental watchdog. And only surface samples have been taken, rather than core samples, where radiation is likely to be higher.

Neil McEvoy AM said “This is real people power. Not many petitions to the National Assembly reach the 5,000 mark and so it shows the level of concern people have.

“It’s not okay for mud from outside a nuclear reactor to be dumped in Wales without the most thorough testing being done.

“That’s not the kind of future I want for my country. We need a modern economy built on skills and knowledge, not taking the waste other people don’t want.

“The Labour Welsh Government must now listen. They need to get this mud properly tested and they need to stop being reckless with radiation.”

To view the petition, visit tinyurl.com/ybqnvaax.