Letter from Wales

The proposals by the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) to build a pressurized water reactor on the Trawsfynydd site is a cause for concern. The environmental impacts, not just in visual effects but in potential contamination and pollution are discussed. The cooling necessary would come either from very tall cooling towers or the enlargement of the present Llyn Trawsfynydd. Neither are considered environmentally desirable. The present Magnox reactor has a poor safety record and the lake used for the cooling process has been found to have high radioactive readings. Even when shutdown for good the existing Magnox station will not be removed for many years. The problem of the proposed CEGB above ground pipeline is also mentioned. The possibility that the CEGB will put up a plan for Wylfa in Anglesey as a diversion from its Trawsfynydd plan is not discounted. (U.K.)