When I went to see Sellafield’s nuclear decommissioning some years ago I was fascinated – and I admit a little nervous – to see the toxic legacy that had been left by previous generations that today’s custodians are still dealing with.
Things, they pointed out, were very different when it started. There was the Cold War raging in the fields of science and technology as well as defence, and there was an urgent need for energy before the days of North Sea oil. In the rush to nuclear, the thorny problem of what to do with the toxic nuclear waste that would remain potentially dangerous for another generation or more was kicked down the road for another generation to deal with – a problem, you could say, to be repeated with climate change.
But it was a very different time. It was the age of Protect and Survive, the hopelessly optimistic government pamphlet that advised a nation under attack to shelter under the kitchen table. It was a time when National Service...