MIKE Dennis in the Times (January 12, 'Could Plymouth become the Sellafield of the South West?') highlights the chance for us all to participate in the most important decision affecting the people of in this area for five generations.

The submarine dismantling project consultation is the key opportunity to respond to MOD plans which could, if unopposed, lead to Plymouth unnecessarily becoming the only site in the UK for dismantling these submarines and storing the intermediate radioactive waste from them.

If Plymouth is to effectively become a nuclear scrap yard, what impact will this have on a city with aspirations as a World Centre of Tourism and University Centre of Excellence? What will happen to the beautiful Tamar Valley eco-system when even more radioactive waste gets spilled into the river? Why cannot the companies that built them, dismantle them?

We need the ability to defuel nuclear-powered submarines to be dispersed around several sites in the UK, including Scotland. Let's not have all our 'eggs' in one 'basket' (or in the centre of a city of 250,000 people).

The public consultation ends on February 17, 2012. Take the opportunity to make your voice heard.  Go to: http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/MicroSite/DES/WhatWeDo/SDP/">http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/MicroSite/DES/WhatWeDo/SDP/ to see the  Public Consultation Document on Submarine Dismantling (under 'Related Pages') and fill in the feedback form. Say as little or as much as you like, but demand that the MOD seeks alternative options and thinks again about its plans to turn the Plymouth and the Tamar Valley into a nuclear dumping ground.

Marlene Harris

Albaston