Following on from Peter Farmery’s thorough explanation of the very major difference in the way nuclear waste will be processed at Hinkley C compared to Hinkley B (Letters November 24), I want to clarify one point.

When EDF say they want to store the high level waste at HPC for a minimum of 60 years, they actually mean 120 years.

HPC will be producing high level toxic waste for 60 years. Due to the nature of the new EPR reactor, the waste it produces is twice as toxic and twice as hot as the B station and therefore cannot be transported for 60 years, so total length of storage will be 120 years minimum. 

This was always in the plan but it was so complicated that no one seemed to notice it.

The plan assumed that the government will persuade a community to host a deep geological storage facility (GDSF) to take this waste after 120 years paid for by us.

Currently EDF in France do not have a DGSF for the waste from their own nuclear plants and fierce battles are being fought by protesters in Beure in France for a community which is having one forced upon it. 

Lastly, reprocessing high level waste has long been considered way too expensive apart from in those countries that want to extract plutonium for nuclear weapons. 

This is a terrible legacy to leave to our children’s children. 

Katy Attwater, Cowbridge, Timberscombe.