Recently members of Siol nan Gaidheal visited Dounreay Nuclear Power Station in Caithness, to discover for themselves what was really going on regarding Nirex's test drilling for a nuclear dump in Scotland. We were concerned that the local people's opinion, and that of the rest of Scotland, was once again being ignored by the Westminster government and "big business".

A lot of publicity was given to the announcement that NIREX were coming. The SNP called for the people of Scotland to unite in opposition to their plans. Since that initial blaze of publicity, not much more has been heard, and the struggle has been left in the hands of such groups as S.A.N.D. (Scotland Against Nuclear Dumping). These groups have been the only voice of resistance to what is a blatant and deadly threat to Scotland and its people. S.A.N.D. were recently allowed to leaflet "Runrig" concerts, their first real chance to reach the public. Their efforts have been excellent, but they and other groups, including Siol nan Gaidheal, face one difficult (and quite mystifying on this occasion) hurdle : the apathy of the general public. Why is this?

Surely we can all see that the idea of other countries exporting their nuclear waste to Scotland for dumping would be another nail in Scotland's coffin. We would be an easy pushover for Europe, as well as a laughing stock in Westminster. It would mean that we would have been humiliated by our own lack of concern for our country and our people.

The delegation of SnG members discussed this problem during our journey up North. We hoped for a kind reception from the local people, but unfortunately we must report that besides the objections from the aforementioned groups, we found very little support amongst the local population. This can be explained in part by the numbers of local people employed within the nuclear establishment at Dounereay. "If NIREX leaves, the jobs leave with it."

There is a caravan that until recently was occupied by a sole protestor (very reminiscent of SnG's stand against drilling research in Glen Etive) but who has now left. He appears to have been one of a small group who had the guts and determination to make a stand against NIREX. The day he left, he was arrested for making a protest stopping vehicles entering Dounereay.

These events left us feeling slightly let-down. We decided to attempt to photograph the drilling rig within the complex. We approached the guard at the gate of the complex and, surprise, surprise, he turned out to be an Englishman with an attitude problem. When we put our request to be allowed to photograph the rig, he told us in no uncertain terms that not only was this not possible, but it would be an extremely good idea if we were to get to ****. After some further discussion, we thought it prudent to leave before we were arrested. However we did in fact manage to take a few photographs. In one of them you can just see the NIREX rig in the background. Proof, if you still need it, that NIREX is here, alive and well, and working at Dounereay.

After our experience, SnG and other groups must be even more committed to resisting NIREX. But in order to accomplish this, we need the general public to join us and voice our heartfelt feelings on this matter. For too long, Scots have sat back while our culture, identity and well-being have been eroded by the powers-that-be. We have allowed ourselves to sink into a state of lethargy. We have, against our wishes, permitted the government to base nuclear weapons 20 miles from the entre of Glasgow. Submitted to the running down of British Rail's Scottish services. The closure of British Steel's plants that produced pipes for the North Sea industry. The Government's refusal to upgrade the A1 roadway in Scotland (yet upgrading the whole English stretch). All of these have reduced us to a Nation of self-doubters, and the final blow may well be the government's stance in favour of NIREX.

Recently at a seminar in Inverness, NIREX admitted that they would not only like to store "Low Level Waste" but also "Medium" and "High Level Waste" in Scotland. Something they initially denied, indicative of their contempt for the objections from the people of Scotland. As one campaigner against NIREX said, "they are like an unwelcome salesman, who jams his foot in the door and then exploits the market." NIREX are dleiberately lying to us, because Caithness is their last chance of finding a suitable dump as far away from England as possible, even though geological reports prove Caithness as totally unsuitable for the storing of nuclear waste.

We cannot allow this to happen, for all our sakes. After all, we are Scots, let us put our house in order and say "NO" to NIREX.

© Siol nan Gaidheal, 1991