The Observer from London, Greater London, England • 4

THE OBSERVER. SUNDAY. 6 NOVEMBER 1877 Jolly end to Windscale inauirv 1: Ml I' by NIGEL HAWKES, our Science Correspondent mm performance was uneven. The Windscale Appeal depended too much on huff and puffj and the Isle of Man set off a few fireworks without reaUy shaking BNFL's defences'. Lord Silsoe.

summing up called Plutonium for the new plant as a form of waste management for existing or projected nuclear reactors; reprocessing was by no means necessary, for the safe disposal of nuclear Nor was it clear that the plant would be profitable, atad a derision -to delay would not as BNFL had claimed, idose I 'For the opponents, the best arguments had come 'from Friends of the Earth and the Town and Country Planning Association. Both understood that planning inquiries are no -place for wild and unsubstantiated assertions; their cases were carefully prepared and soberly presented. Mr Raymond Kidwell, QC, for Friends of the Earth, made a particularly good impression in his final submission. He urged delay any final decision now On whether BNFL should be allowed to build a new nuclear fuel reprocessing plant would be premature, dangerous and misconceived. He admitted this was no stirring rallying-cry.

'Moderation catches few ears, and still less public he said. But die Inspector and his two assessors should have the courage to say that no decision one way or the other need be' taken. now. There was, he said, no need THE MARATHON Wind-scale Inquiry petered out quietly at 11.27 on Friday morning, its 100th day of hearings. Few were there to hear Lord Silsoe, QC, for British Nuclear Fuels Ltd, bring his filial submissions to a close.

THie objectors, who had made their final speeches earlier, had slipped off home, chastened by-the length and cost of Britain's most complex public inquiry. It had been an experience not to be missed but not, perhaps, ttf be repeated too soon or too often. The financial strain of sustaining a case for nearly five months, with counsel briefed, is more than most of Britain's environmental groups can bear. Enthusiasm for another long inquiry next year into the fast-breeder reactor was notably muted. At die end of the inquiry, few.

positions had been abandoned, either by opponents or proponents. A clash between two conflicting views of the world is rarely resolved by talking, only by time. And in public, of course, neither side could afford to make concessions. Now-it is left to the Inspector, Mr Justice Parker, to write a final report and final recommendations to the Environment Secretary, Mr Peter Shore. He expects to finish the job by the end of the year.

In spite of the deep doctrinal differences, the atmosphere was' always friendly and the end-of-term party on Thursdays attended by all, including the Inspector, was a jolly affair. an energy source, with so' jjocenaai ror. evil ana so so much power for Could' it be right to deny the world die huge energypoteri-tial which could be tapped by extracting plutonium and uranium from spent nuclear fuel, when it seemed likely that there would be severe energy shortages by the end of the Century President Carter's statement reprocessing, he said, did not imply that smaller countries, with fewer indigenous resources than the US, should. also give up reprocessing. Of course.

improved international safe-. guards were needed, but the cause of non-proliferation would not be served by Britain opting out of the reprocessing business. It might force other countries to build their own reprocessing plants, and thus hasten their movement towards nuclear weapon status. Oh balance, it seems likely 'that Lord Silsoe's arguments will prevail. The objectors have riot done quite enough to swing the verdict their way.

The-Inspector is likely to recommend a go-ahead for the plant, to conditions. Hii report will go first to' Mr Shore, and then to the Cabinet. Even if they, give an immediate go-ahead to BNFL." it) will be 10 year's or so before the plant will be ready to operate. we option on ouuaing fast-breeder reactors, if that were subsequently decided upon The reason for this was that -Britain already had enough Plutonium in stock to fuel the first fast-breeder, and if it needed mOre'it could build" the oxide. reprocessing plant in a shorter timethan it would take to build the breeder.

Thus a. decision, in favour of the breeders.need riot be pre-ceded, by a' decision in favour of oxide fuel reprocessing. Friends of the jEarth: urged that spent fuel should be stored under, for. another decade' or so, a per- fectly safe in Mr KidwelPs view; to allow the' Gas Corporation arid the oil companies should be' dated to prolong supplies. The implications' of fcjs speech were that a 'Con--servitive Government would change the style rather than the substance of much of Labour's policy jmphasising conservation, the 'need for a public inquiry into fast breeder and cdn-tinuing depletion controls Although he stepped' back from previous Conservative i i Tories outline their oil polic In this picture, taken Mrs Peggy Hodgson Is by 'Dally Mirror' photographer Graham Morris, hit by a tlylngg marble.

The photographer was hit by, a Lego brick. A CONSERVATIVE Government would retain the British National Oil Corporation as a state oil company -but would hive off its present role as a regulatory agency' and. severely curb its growth, Mr Tom King, Opposition spokesman on energy, said yesterday. Speaking at Banbury, he also suggested that long-term gas contracts between the 50,000 winner Last week's 50,000 Premium Bond prize was won by 6ZZ. 510207.

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i mipc knock and a poltergeist calls --i v'-''r-X'fits'' 'V--' by PEARSON PHILLIPS hurled fiercely across the. room i several times, having its metal legs bent in the process. i witness to tne event, Mrs aaf ill JBTTi scribed now she was pouring-water from a kettle into a. teapot when' something appeared right in front of my eyes and then dropped oh to tne. kitchen unit top and bounced once.

I was so shocked I dropped the kettle and cried a case of materialisation', say the psycnical experts, is typical of the later stages of poltpr- 1 A POLTERGEIST that likes flaying with bncks in the north London suburb of Enfield has been peppering -sceptics' with a barrage of carefully moni- iurea mystery. It beehn. a -ic anhnrenrlv the way with poltergeists, with some inexplicable rapping noises last August in an ordinary brick and pebble-dashed council house the home of. a. divorced woman, 47-year-0ld" Mrs Peggy Hbdg? soOj and her' fourchildren, two girls (aged 13 and 11) and two younger boys.

ine mamtestabons escalated in a way: in which exoerts from the SoHetv Jnr Psychical Research claimed conforms to the usual pattern; maroies anq pieces ot belonging to the children are said i number of people xnrouen tne air at man Kneen dn the wound floor imTms. No ae had thrown them; Graham Moms TTa failed tn in his, thu CL. rw this stage was a photographer VZSLSliZSP iBuinena. Hoor again inexplicably. Recent developments have The investigators have-included more rhythmic tap- noted that what they call the Grosse.

who runs an indUs solav comnanv and is Sl oassaae of time to determine whether reorocessine was really needed, or whether President Carters unilateral to abandon reproces-. decision sing might prove catcmng. i The own and Country Planning Association made tneir gr line'Dr greatest imDact bv cal- Alice Stewart, a dis- tirigttishdd epiaemioiogist, as a witness sue claimed that risks to Windscale were probably 20 radiation workers greater than had been believed previously, a claim which rested on some sophis-I statistics collected at ticated the Hanford plant in the United States. Interesting as this areu- 'mem; weigh' wis: it: is unlikely to heavily with the -vry Inspectol that; sin 3r iinp He made it. clear ce Stewart's case was strb ngly contested by other asurii experts, he regarded it not be lufficieht ground to BNFL application, fibjectiors made some reject the Other good pqi iqts, although their suggest! ns that Ithey would abolish' the 'bil corporationj Mr King' insisted that it had bitten off more than it can threatened to 'establish ''a; rnohopoly in the "las't competitive area of energy supply." It is Our" firm" intention firstly, at least, to contain the British' National Oil 'Corporation and then its activities; each' case' to determine' their relevance to the national interest, he said.

stand comparison with -meeting his first poltergeist I mMLJuta JMRt "-i andwaa himself tor. -Het Hejys Molts on psycHic had aJbump on'his fore' mischievous movements v-furmturel Chairs were pushed along the floor. A bed accora. MUllenly ponea mc.cqeir self-c0sing-, doors refused', to "close, poiierKeisis are pnur teit. me ainerence.

oetween it's tne case "the r.children's of depending -on sman cnuarens cnaur says Mr nayiair. rnis tp The councils who wpnp ping noises, ana tne wrencn- ing away a bedroom wall of part of-a brick-fire place. ZVaYnv.JXsrT Sf working on the case. One is a Mr ''Maurice'' The i other, Mr Guy Lyon author, and.ex deplores the sensationalis.n!; to bft called Two things excite them. is that it is rare for in- yeuijaiura; tp; oev caueo-v in concern at the lajrge nuner complaints.

ato plsning receivea oy ine iocai omDuqs mah. the' maiofitv of 'which never reach a-satisfactory, outcome; Aimpsta1 filitint: and When tnpn 'Knrf Fnnfiri Vhnt rhere' failure tjooie' job properly xney-did-not, she addeoVe-, nrBRent faiRirfs to nrfifev afminisfaHv nrfrMnn'hini everyday standards' which'the Oublic had a riobt to exbect. Mr Hugh Rossi, an Opposi- remember the simple RELUCTANCE to admit mis- takes was one of the weaknesses or lud a' source of Dublic 'bad' feeling, BaroneSs Serota, chairman -of Commission. ior ttpun5irHoa Enalahd (local eovernment 'flg W.vpwnp.Satn tbecauseof OracHCalidlfll- own eyes.9 The other is the qu lary of their independent witnesses. -iuae neiKnoours'anq VUlVCk 9 AUas Ponders End 'Police station who were called1 to the hbuse in the 'rapping' Police Constable Carolyn Heeps and another officer went to the -house on 1 September.

She savs' rhsv hsarri sounds of knockina and tan- ping on the walls but could nnd nothing to explain slide across the living roOm vrru xiecpa iiien saw a cnair epicentre tne' pheno menon began by fixing On Mrs Hodgson's youngjtr daughter, Janet, but now Other daughter, Margaret. Girls are said by some" authorities to be vulnerable in Alien nttiirUtA by the investigators to th" fact that there have, ben 9f maiaajustment in tne xamuy i eldest son is SJLg; first I famuy looking-for a new couhcU -Slit; now that IihWiliv.bhjtqrb of them for some7 time I -knOw about tneir 1 can tion, spokesina)n 'pp the en- wbnnientitoHl dii meeting that 'local authorities should set special nlahnine zones was freed from- shackles of vojs, Mr Rossi'Ssid ink Sit- 1.niTto-fii l.rl astrayhy'ibfficewho; are making ajteraiionavtp their own homes, rtlStratirtn with h. 'nffAritfe annrAke-h whiK nine decisidnsj Is'' a major, cause Of- the planning control' sirety 5 itai BRITISH 0 i-fhiadmuiistfatibn-by On mpg alone, you're miles better off with a Sherpa fleet vere reluctant to 2VfcS-" oemea tnat anythinc Jiad c6ne wrOne: and vref used itp reim- bttrihiesijenses' ij-; Lady Serota'alsb expressed If you smell gas, swap Thebestwamrrtyinthebusiness. The all vehicles from Leyland Cars, enjoys a warranty without parallel in Britain today. It gives-ypu a years free no-mileage limit with free parts and labour, a year's free Porrx smoice or usenaked Don't operate electticM stvies Do open doors aridd6virs.

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