Nuclear Landscape | Cartographies of Risk

Living with Risk

Hinkley Point, Dungeness, Hartlepool, Torness, Heysham, and Sizewell are six communities dotted around the coast of the United Kingdom. Spanning the British Isles these places share two things in common, their proximity to the sea and the production of nuclear power. From the outside, the idea of living next to atomic power can bring to mind Chornobyl or nuclear weapons. But for the people who live there, nuclear power has become banal every day, with the most interaction revealing itself in the form of employment and economic stimulus. Nuclear Landscape researchers this risk/reward dichotomy through field visits, interviews, and archival research.

The National Nuclear Football League

Nuclear power is good, bad, and everything in between. For the communities enveloping atomic power plants, the effects of risk and economic stimulus are most present, yet they are mostly absent from the conversation and discussions around nuclear power in the UK. Where and how nuclear power is built and run is ultimately decided by policymakers in London and international financial firms across the world. The goal of the National Nuclear Football League is to connect these locations around the UK in a way that actually relatable to the people who live there. As nuclear energy is a candidate for reducing our CO2 emissions it is imperative that these communities have an identity, voice, and place to learn from each other. In the spring of 2023, the league will bring together a 5-a-side team from each landscape to face off in a winner takes all tournament. For the league, a collection of football-related objects has been designed and produced by makers surrounding the power plants. From a cast iron football medal produced in Hartlepool to a foam finger made near Hinkley point these objects connect members of these communities to the project and create a collective identity.