Did you know you can’t insure nuclear reactors and their decommissioning processes? The commercial insurance companies just won’t touch them. The costs of cleaning up a major nuclear accident are so huge they would bankrupt any company stupid enough to offer cover.

So governments have to step in and offer to pay the costs in the event of an accident. That’s what New Labour did over the summer while Parliament was in recess and MPs were on holiday.

However, doing so involved a circumvention of the democratic niceties – which isn’t uncommon when it comes to dealings with the nuclear industry. But this particular dirty, backroom deal might be back to bite the government:

A government decision to rush through a scheme indemnifying a US-led private consortium who took over Sellafield from any liability for a nuclear accident is to be investigated, the Speaker of the Commons, Michael Martin.

He has accepted a complaint from Paul Flynn, the Labour MP for Newport, that former energy minister Malcolm Wicks had not properly consulted MPs when he granted the consortium, made up of the American company URS Washington, French firm Areva and the UK company Amec, an indemnity.

[...]

The consortium had threatened to walk away unless Britain waived its rights to charge companies the first £140m for the costs of any accident.

You see this kind of thing all over the world – rigged public consultations, a blurring between the roles of politician and nuclear lobbyist, and – as in this case – the blackmailing of governments.

The added bonus for this consortium? The British taxpayer will fork out even if the accidents are the fault of the consortium itself. It’s a sweet deal to be sure. Whether you’re for or against nuclear power, though, surely you can agree that this isn’t the way to do things. It doesn’t do the already poor reputations of nuclear energy or politics any favours.

(Cross-posted at Nuclear Reaction)