Fracking and nuclear no easy solution, says expert

Dr David Lowry, a senior research fellow at the Institute for Resource and Security Studies in Massachusetts, warns that the technology for small nuclear reactors such as those backed by North Shropshire MP Owen Paterson was still a long way from reality and would require massive public investment.

Mr Paterson, a former environment secretary, has called for a fresh look at UK energy policy. He says that the traditional policy which has focused on huge nuclear and coal-fired power stations, and the more recent emphasis on renewable energy sources needs to be rethought. Mr Paterson says the extraction of shale gas could be used to meet Britain's short-term needs, with the development of small 'modular' nuclear power plants providing a long-term solution.

Dr Lowry says while Mr Paterson is right to call for a move away from the giant power plants of the past, he is critical of the MP's vision for the future.

"His choice of gas-fired plants using fracked natural shale gas from UK wells, and small modular nuclear reactors is highly misguided," he says.

He adds that the use of shale gas to cut down on carbon emissions could lead to health problems including exposure to 'gender-bending' hormones and radiation poisoning.

"It is true fracked gas is cleaner in terms of greenhouse gas emissions than burning coal, but there are still 'fugitive emissions' of shale gas, which is a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide from coal combustion," says Dr Lowry.

He says fracking comes with both health hazards and under-reported radiation risks.

He says an independent study by researchers at the University of Missouri in 2013 found greater hormone-disrupting properties – so called 'gender-bending' chemicals – in water located near to fracking sites.

"Endocrine disruptors interfere with the body's endocrine system, which controls numerous body functions with hormones such as the female hormone oestrogen and the male hormone androgen," he says.

"Exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, such as those in the research, has been linked to cancer, birth defects and infertility."

Equally disturbingly, Dr Lowry warns that kitchens across the UK would be under threat from radiation poisoning if gas hobs and ovens were supplied with shale gas. He cites a report from Public Health England which warned five years ago: 'If the natural gas delivery point were to be close to the extraction point with a short transit time, radon present in the natural gas would have little time to decay – there is therefore the potential for radon gas to be present in natural gas extracted from UK shale'.

Dr Lowry also questions whether the recent decision by Japanese giant Hitachi to suspend work on the Wylfa power station in Anglesey would have a major impact on the Government's energy strategy.

"Wylfa would have provided two per cent of national energy demand, hardly a big hole as electricity demand has dropped every year for a decade," he says.