Pete is co-founder of Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace UK and architect of what one journalist called "some of the most imaginative and successful environmental campaigns of the 80": radioactive waste dumping at sea ended, UK fur trade curtailed, dolphinaria banned, seal culling in the Orkneys abandoned, liquid radioactive waste discharges to the Irish Sea dramatically reduced, Antarctica declared a mining-free zone until 2041. Consultant to many government departments and industries. Author of two books. Member of Defra’s committee on radioactive waste management 2003–2007.
Pete Wilkinson, co-founder of Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace UK, explains the impact of nuclear reactors, which contain plutonium and uranium, on human health. A reports with evidence of the effects on young children has also been sent to different governments, but has received an underwhelming response.
The Sizewell drama has a long way to run yet, with huge issues at stake. This is an excellent opportunity to accept that nuclear power presents us with insurmountable problems of waste, siting and rapidly emerging health issues, and to shine a spotlight, yet again, on the depressing reality that nuclear power generation is inexorably linked to the nuclear weapons industry.