Personal Independence Payment claimants must report travel abroad for over four weeks or risk losing benefits

There are several changes in circumstances that individuals receiving Personal Independence Payments (PIP) must inform the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) about, or they risk losing their benefit entitlement and having regular payments paused or stopped.

It’s crucial to note that changing your name, doctor, health professional or address do not need to be reported to the DWP and will have no impact on your payments – but it is worthwhile ensuring the details DWP holds on file for you is up to date.

However, leaving the country or planning to leave the country for a period of more than four weeks – even just for a holiday – may affect entitlement.

Guidance on GOV.UK for people planning to leave the country for more than four weeks, states: “This change may affect the claimant’s entitlement to PIP. We will need to know the date the claimant is leaving the country, how long they are planning to be out of the country, which country they are going to and why they are going abroad.”

If you are planning to travel abroad this year, or are in the process of booking a holiday for more than four weeks, make sure you contact the DWP with the details they have asked for as soon as possible, reports the Daily Record.

How to report a change of circumstances to DWP

Contact the PIP enquiry line on 0800 121 4433 to report a change of circumstances – lines are open from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.

Here is a comprehensive guide to all the changes in circumstances and whether you need to contact the DWP about them.

Alterations to daily living or mobility requirements

You should inform the DWP if, for instance, you require more or less assistance or support, or if your condition will persist for a longer or shorter duration than you previously informed the DWP.

Such a change could impact your eligibility for PIP, as well as the amount and duration of the PIP award.

Departing the country or intending to leave the country for more than four weeks – even if it’s for a holiday

This alteration could affect the claimant’s eligibility for PIP. The DWP needs to be informed of the date the claimant is leaving the country, the length of their intended stay abroad, the country they are visiting, and the reason for their trip.

Hospital stays or similar institutionalisation

According to DWP guidelines, both components of PIP cease to be payable 28 days after the claimant is admitted to an NHS hospital.

Patients funded privately are not subject to these rules and can continue to receive either component of PIP.

If a claimant is in hospital or a similar institution at the date entitlement to PIP begins, PIP is not payable until they are discharged.

Care homes

The daily living component of PIP ceases to be payable after 28 days of residency in a care home where the costs of the accommodation are met from public or local funds. The PIP mobility component can continue to be paid.

Those who fully self-fund their care home placement are not impacted by these regulations. If a claimant is in a care home at the date of entitlement, the PIP daily living component is not payable until they depart.

Linked stays in hospital and a care home

Hospital stays are linked if the interval between them is no more than 28 days. The daily living component for stays in a care home is also linked if the gap between them is no more than 28 days.

There is no link for the mobility component as payment is not affected when in a care home. Both components of PIP will cease to be paid after a total of 28 days in hospital. The daily living component of PIP will stop being paid after a total of 28 days in a care home.

If a claimant transitions between a hospital and care home, or vice versa, these periods will also link.

Imprisonment or claimant held in legal custody

This alteration may impact the amount of PIP that can be paid to the claimant.

The DWP needs to be informed of the date the claimant was taken into prison or legal custody and the expected duration of their stay, if known.

Detained in legal custody

PIP stops being payable after 28 days where someone is being detained in legal custody. This applies whether the offence is civil or criminal and whether they have been convicted or are on remand.

Suspended payments of benefit are not refunded regardless of the outcome of proceedings against the individual. Two or more separate periods in legal custody link if they are within one year of each other.

Change of name

This change will not affect payment or eligibility for PIP, but it is important the DWP has the most up-to-date details for the claimant.

This change needs to be reported in writing – if the claimant phones to give these details, the DWP will ask for these details to be put in writing. The written notification must contain:

• Full details of their previous name

• Their new name

• Details of any changes made to the bank or building society account into which PIP is paid, such as the name of the account or the account number

• Their signature on the letter

Change of account PIP is paid into

The DWP needs full details of the name and address of the new bank or building society along with details of the new account including the name of the account, the account number and the sort code or roll number.

Change of person acting for the claimant

This refers to an appointee or someone with power of attorney for the claimant.

This change is important so the DWP can make payments to the right person at the right time. They need the full name, address and contact details of the new person who is acting for the claimant.

If the person acting for the claimant has moved or has different contact details, the DWP just needs the new details.

Change of address

This alteration, unless it involves a hospital or nursing home, will not impact the eligibility or payment of PIP. It’s crucial that the DWP has the most current details for the claimant.

They require comprehensive information about the new address to which the claimant has relocated, including the postcode and the date of the move.

Change of doctor or healthcare professional

This change will not affect the payment or eligibility for PIP and is not obligatory once a decision on the PIP claim has been reached.

However, if the change occurs during the claiming process, it’s vital that the DWP have the most recent information. This ensures that the assessment provider has the correct contact details to collect any additional details they may need.

The DWP requires the full name, address, and contact details of the new doctor or healthcare professional.

Complete details about changes of circumstance if you are receiving PIP can be found on GOV.UK.

George Shuttleworth (Tony Maudsley) was clearly suspicious of the circumstances surrounding Todd Grimshaw (Gareth Pierce) and Theo Silverton’s (James Cartwright) wedding in Coronation Street this week, and Theo’s actions in tonight’s episode proved he was right to worry.

Theo has been abusing Todd since the beginning of their relationship last year, but so far the only person to learn the full extent of it has been Billy Mayhew.

After Todd confided in the vicar, Theo left him to die in the Corriedale pile-up to silence him and keep Todd trapped in their relationship.

Things have continued to escalate since then, until Theo unexpectedly called things off after threatening Todd with a knife.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end for their relationship, with Theo secretly organising their wedding earlier this week, with Gary Windass (Mikey North) and Maria Connor (Samia Longchambon) as witnesses.

Following the ceremony, George was put out about not having been invited, and suggested to Summer Spellman (Harriet Bibby) that perhaps Todd hadn’t had much of a say in organising the event.

Tonight, his fears were confirmed when he paid Todd a visit, only for Theo to arrive home while Todd had nipped out.

Having been for a run to cool off after Todd turned him down for sex, Theo’s mood clearly hadn’t improved by the time he got back.

Believing that it was Todd in the bathroom, Theo continued to make vile comments about Todd’s weight and his refusal to have sex again that morning.

However, when Todd returned home and George emerged from the bathroom, Theo played it all off as a joke.

Unfortunately for him, it was too late, as the scales had clearly fallen from George’s eyes.

George relayed the experience to Summer, sharing his concerns that Todd hadn’t been himself for months.

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When Summer questioned what they could do to help Todd, George asserted that they needed to ‘get him away from that monster’.

Determined to keep Todd safe, George offered him his old room back – but will Todd accept? Or will Theo win him over once again?

MORE: Coronation Street comeback for Natalie Anderson confirmed as Theo’s end looms

MORE: Killer Gary’s next victim ‘confirmed’ on Coronation Street as he closes in on Theo amid star’s exit

MORE: All Coronation Street spoilers for next week as two villains face their comeuppance

Two second half goals undid all the good work but Northern Ireland were missing a number of key players

Michael O’Neill believes his young Northern Ireland side will only be better for the experience after a 2-0 defeat to Italy in their World Cup semi-final play-off in Bergamo.

O’Neill had stated that the squad is further on in their development than he’d expected at this stage and there was certainly no shame in losing to an Azzurri side that they kept at bay in a tense first half at the New Balance Arena.

“I couldn’t ask any more from the players, I thought our game plan in the first half was excellent,” said the 56-year-old, who was without the likes of Conor Bradley and Daniel Ballard for the crunch game..

“We limited Italy to very few chances in the first half.

“Ultimately in the second half we caused our own problems.

“We had a couple of nervous moments before the first goal. We were out of shape, it’s not a great header and it lands to the wrong man in Sandro Tonali, who strikes a great ball.

“Once you’re behind in the game it’s difficult.

“But I thought our attitude throughout was terrific.

“It’s a very young team, I think the average age is 22 years of age, so it is incredibly positive for us to come here, against a team like Italy, and take them to the 90th minute before they feel they’re safe.

“We only had one player out there over the age of 24 and that says a lot.

“We showed great character. I thought all the younger players were terrific in the game.

“Regardless of the result, we took a step forward in terms of the progress of the team.

“It’s very difficult to come away here to Italy, especially with the players we had missing.

“It feels raw now, but the team has developed.”

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A Los Angeles jury has delivered a landmark verdict: Meta and YouTube were negligent in the design and operation of their platforms, causing a young woman known in court documents as Kaley, or KGM, to become addicted to social media.

The tech giants must now pay her a total of US$6 million in damages – $3 million compensatory and $3 million punitive.

She claimed the platforms’ design features got her addicted to the technology and exacerbated her depression, anxiety, body dysmorphia and suicidal thoughts.

The jury found that Meta bore 70% of the responsibility and YouTube 30%, meaning Meta will pay $4.2 million and Google’s YouTube $1.8 million. Both companies have said they will appeal.

The verdict came a day after a separate New Mexico jury ordered Meta to pay US$375 million for failing to protect children from predators on Instagram and Facebook.

Kaley filed her lawsuit in 2023, when she was 17. She claimed that she began using social media as a young child and alleged that features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, algorithmically timed notifications and beauty filters were addictive.

TikTok and Snap were originally named as defendants but settled before the trial began for undisclosed sums. Meta and YouTube proceeded to a seven-week trial in Los Angeles Superior Court.

The case is the first of three bellwether trials scheduled in the California state proceedings – test cases selected to gauge how juries respond to the core legal arguments – drawn from a pool of more than 1,600 plaintiffs, including over 350 families and 250 school districts.

The outcome of this first trial was always likely to have consequences far beyond one young woman’s case.

Bypassing big tech’s legal shield

The legal strategy that made this trial possible was a deliberate departure from previous attempts to sue social media companies. Historically, platforms have been shielded by Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which protects internet companies from liability for content posted by their users.

The plaintiff’s lawyers sidestepped this entirely by arguing that the harm arose not from what users posted, but from how the platforms were engineered – treating Instagram and YouTube as defective products rather than neutral publishers.

The jury heard internal Meta documents that proved damaging. One memo read: “If we wanna win big with teens, we must bring them in as tweens.” Another showed that 11-year-olds were four times as likely to keep returning to Instagram compared with competing apps, despite the platform’s own minimum age requirement of 13.

A former Meta engineering director turned whistleblower, Arturo Béjar, testified about how features like infinite scroll exploit the brain’s reward system. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg himself took the stand – his first jury testimony on child safety – and was questioned about his decision to retain beauty filters despite internal research flagging their impact on young girls’ body image.

The jury rejected the companies’ central defence: that Kaley’s struggles were primarily the result of a difficult home life and pre-existing conditions rather than platform design.

In finding that the companies had acted with “malice, oppression or fraud”, they opened the door to the additional punitive damages that brought the total to US$6 million.

Both companies will appeal, and the process could take years. In the meantime, a second important trial is scheduled for this summer, and a separate federal case in Oakland involving school districts is also advancing. The pressure on platforms to settle the thousands of remaining cases will grow considerably.

Long-term impact?

For users, the immediate practical picture is less clear. Meta and YouTube are unlikely to make significant changes to their platforms while the appeals process plays out. Any redesign – if it comes – is likely to be incremental and carefully managed to minimise disruption to the engagement model that drives their revenues.

But there is a harder question the verdict does not answer: will it actually change anything? Meta and YouTube are companies worth hundreds of billions of dollars. A US$6 million damages award is not going to restructure the attention- and surveillance-driven economy.

My research on digital overuse – based on in-depth interviews with digital users and studies of online communities discussing digital overuse and detox – shows that even people who are fully aware of the problem and genuinely want to reduce their screen time find it extraordinarily difficult to do so.

This is not because they lack willpower, but because the features driving compulsive use are not bugs in the system. They are the system, built to maximise engagement and advertising revenue.

For years, big tech has placed the burden of managing screen time squarely on individuals and parents – encouraging screen time limits, digital detoxes, and parental controls while continuing to engineer products specifically designed to defeat exactly that kind of self-regulation.

The jury has pushed back against that logic. Whether courts, regulators, and legislators will push hard enough to force genuine structural redesign remains to be seen. However, the European Commission has already made the preliminary finding that TikTok’s addictive design features are in breach of the EU’s Digital Services Act.

What this verdict does, at minimum, is shift the ground. For the first time, a jury has confirmed what researchers have argued for years: this is not a story of weak willpower or bad parenting. It is, at least in part, a story of deliberate product design. That matters – even if the real fight is still to come.

Mickeleate, close to its junction with North Street, has been temporarily closed by City of York Council.

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Confirming this in a statement, a spokesperson said: “This morning our teams were inspecting Micklegate as part of our routine highways maintenance and discovered a void under the road.

“We’ve had to temporarily close the bottom of Micklegate to vehicles while we investigate, before the issue is fixed.

“Thanks for everyone’s patience while we urgently investigate.”

Pedestrians and cyclists will still be able to use the road, City of York Council has confirmed (Image: City of York Council)

Businesses along the road, the council said, will open as usual tomorrow, with pavements open to pedestrians and mobility aid users.

Cyclists will also be able to use the route, following signed diversions set up today.

There are mixed emotions ahead as a huge Emmerdale favourite heads off for a new life.

Tracy Shankley (Amy Walsh) gears up to whisk daughter Frankie away for a fresh start when an opportunity presents itself.

Actress Amy Walsh has left the soap to head off and have a baby, which means Tracy has to disappear, at least for a bit. And there comes the fresh start.

Lately, Tracy has been behaving hecking suspiciously in having weird and secretive phone calls – ditching her post in the shop to take a call with a friend, and completely ignoring Nicola King (Nicola Wheeler) in the pub while furiously typing on her phone. There’s something afoot.

Vanessa Woodfield (Michelle Hardwick) gets wind of this impending change and confronts Tracy when she learns that she plans to move house.

After the year she’s had, it’s no wonder Tracy wants a fresh start. Husband Nate seemed to disappear of the face of the Earth in 2024 when he took up a job in Shetland and cut contact.

Then his body was discovered in the lake.

Then Tracy was accused of his murder after evidence was planted in her house and her own sister wouldn’t provide her with an alibi.

Then it transpired that mad medic John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth) had accidentally killed him.

That’s a lot for anyone to process in the space of a year or so.

Tracy has had to navigate life a single, grieving mum who for a time was even estranged from daughter Frankie’s family and any kind of support. So now things are coming back around and she’s focusing back on herself. Good for her, sad for us.

She’s packing up her and Frankie’s lives and heading out of the village, but with everything going on with Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley), it looks like he might miss his granddaughter’s farewell. Will cancer-suffering Cain be dealt yet another blow by missing their final goodbye?

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Amy Walsh announced the birth of her baby girl on March 23.

The adorable picture she shared on her Instagram is of the little baby’s feet. In the caption, Amy announced to her followers that her daughter was actually born last week.

She wrote: ‘This time last week I was heading into established labour.

‘We’ve been in the most magical bubble ever since.’

MORE: EastEnders star’s ‘heart has doubled’ after welcoming baby with Amy Walsh

MORE: Emmerdale’s Amy Walsh welcomes second baby with EastEnders star husband and shares adorable picture

MORE: All the Emmerdale cast returns, exits and new arrivals in 2026

After an encouraging first half, Michael O’Neill’s men ran out of steam and Sandro Tonali and Moise Kean scored to book their place in a play-off final next Tuesday

It was a disappointing night for Northern Ireland in Bergamo as two second half goals killed off their chances of reaching the World Cup.

After an encouraging first half, Michael O’Neill’s men ran out of steam and Sandro Tonali and Moise Kean scored to book their place in a play-off final next Tuesday.

Here is how the Nothern Ireland players rated in Bergamo:

Pierce Charles 7 – Made a series of fine saves but was powerless to keep out Tonali’s hammer blow.

Trai Hume 8 – A rugged and clever performance from the Northern Ireland captain on the night.

Paddy McNair 7 – As assured as always, using his experience to rally his younger colleagues throughout.

Ruairi McConville 6 – Big night for the 20-year-old and he mostly stood his ground, only to get done for the second goal.

Terry Devlin 5 – Had a tough time up against Dimarco. Will have better nights in a Northern Ireland shirt.

Shea Charles 7 – Played some tidy stuff when he could, dug in with a lot of heart when he couldn’t.

Ethan Galbraith 6 – His normally reliable radar was off, coughing up possession a little too easily at times.

Justin Devenney 6 – Did the hard yards all night and used his left foot to effect when the situation allowed.

Brodie Spencer 6 – Safe and secure as he mostly shut down the left side of the pitch.

Isaac Price 4 – Struggled to get into the game. Did little with whatever ball came his way.

Jamie Donley 6- A thankless task as he hared around trying to unsettle the Italian defence with limited service.

Subs: Paul Smyth 6 (68) for Devlin, Jamie Reid 6 (79) for Spencer, Josh Magennis 6 (79) for Donley,

G Donnarumma 7, R Calafiori 7, N Bastoni 6 (F Gatti 7, 63), G Mancini 7, F Dimarco 7, S Tonali 7, M Locatelli 7, N Barella 7, M Politano 6 (M Palestra 6, 83), M Retegui 5 P Esposito 7, M Kean 8 (Raspadori 6, 88)

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Former Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen kicked a reporter out of a press conference ahead of Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix.

The Red Bull driver, 28, refused to speak to journalists at the media session until The Guardian’s Giles Richards left the room.

Verstappen said: “One second, I’m not speaking before he’s leaving.”

The four-time world champion’s refusal dates back to a question he was asked following the 2025 F1 season finale in Abu Dhabi.

Back then, Mr Richards had asked the Dutchman about a collision with Mercedes driver George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix on 1 June last year.

The collision led to a 10-second penalty that knocked Verstappen down five places, costing him points.

Hitting back at the question at the time, Verstappen said: “You forget all the other stuff that happened in ⁠my season.

“The only thing you mention is Barcelona. I knew that [question] would come. You’re giving me a stupid grin now.

“I don’t ‌know. Yeah, it’s part of racing at the end. You live and learn. The championship is one of 24 rounds. I’ve also had a lot of ‌early Christmas presents given to me in the second half, so you can also question that.”

In Suzuka, Japan, on Thursday, after Verstappen asked him to leave, Mr Richards replied “seriously?”.

Verstappen replied: “Yeah.”

Mr Richards then asked: “Because of the question last year?”

Verstappen then answered “yeah”, before Mr Richards walked towards the driver’s table to collect his dictaphone.

Mr Richards then said: “It’s because of the question I asked you in Abu Dhabi?”

After a further exchange, Mr Richards asked: “You’re really, really upset about it?”

Verstappen said: “Get out, get out! Now we can start.”

What the reporter said about ‘smiling’ Verstappen

Writing about the exchange in The Guardian, Mr Richards said: “In the ​course of a brief 30-second exchange, he told me to ‘get out’, twice. ​I have never been asked to leave a press conference.”

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He added: “Marching orders received, I duly departed. Verstappen had been smiling throughout the exchange. The day carried on; there are far more serious issues in the world than an F1 driver being cross with you.”

Colleagues were “universally shocked” by the incident, he added.

Recent reports have suggested that Sandro Tonali would be expected to leave Newcastle United if they failed to qualify for European football

Newcastle United’s rivals may have been put on alert after an update on Sandro Tonali, with reports suggesting the Italian could be allowed to leave Tyneside if the club fail to qualify for Europe. However, those claims have now been dismissed by Chronicle Live, who report that club officials insist any suggestion of such an agreement is ‘totally untrue.’

Tonali’s future has been the subject of speculation ahead of the summer, with reports linking him with moves to Manchester United and Arsenal. Fresh claims suggest United are preparing a bid, though Tonali remains under contract until 2028, meaning Newcastle are in a strong position to demand whatever fee they like.

It’s understood, however, that Tonali has no release clauses or agreements in his current deal with the club. Comments from his agent, Giuseppe Riso about his client’s prospects fuelled speculation.

READ MORE: Newcastle CEO’s private video message after stinging Sunderland defeat ‘leaked’READ MORE: Newcastle’s ‘harder and harder’ PSR excuse falls foul after £125m transfer mishap

Earlier this month, Riso said: “Tthat was the goal from the moment he went to England – to try to make him a star player.

“I think he’s the Italian footballer with one of the highest values in the world.

“If he shines at the World Cup, will Man City or Arsenal be hot on his heels? I don’t know, but it’s very likely.

“Everyone is waiting for the World Cup; then a thousand scenarios will unfold, but it all kicks off after the World Cup.”

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Meanwhile, Newcastle boss Eddie Howe shot the rumour down last week, saying: “The person that matters the most is Sandro. All I’ve ever seen from him is someone who is totally committed.

“Very selfless at times, he’s here for the team, not for himself. Forget the noise around him, he’s just fully committed.”

Elsewhere, Tonali’s teammate Bruno Guimaraes has also attracted interest from United, with Howe describing claims that the Brazilian is in ‘advanced talks’ with the club as ‘disrespectful.’

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Oil depots spewing black smoke. Debris sinking in the Persian Gulf. Missiles pounding military sites.

The Iran war has unleashed a toxic mix of chemicals, heavy metals and other pollutants that threaten everything from agriculture to drinking water to people’s health — and will leave behind environmental damage and health risks that could persist for decades, experts said.

“All the burning of oil and gas fields in the coastal areas, all the ships that are there, the oil tankers that are being burned or (sunk) — all of these mean pollution,” said Kaveh Madani, an Iranian scientist and director of the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health. “For someone like me who has fought for sustainability and protection of the environment in that region, this is like going many years backward.”

Documenting the damage has proved daunting, with a full accounting impossible for now, said Doug Weir, director of the Conflict and Environment Observatory, a U.K.-based nonprofit that monitors environmental harms from armed conflicts.

The group uses remote satellite sensing and open-source intelligence to identify damage and score environmental risks to people, ecosystems and agricultural land. So far, it has recorded more than 400 environmentally concerning incidents related to the war, though much is still unknown due to delays in satellite imagery and an internet blackout in Iran, Weir said.

Attacks on oil- and gas-related sites create some of the worst environmental risks because of impacts to air quality and soil and water pollution, as well as health threats to people. Harder to quantify are risks from bombed military sites, some of which are deeply buried and some near populated areas, adding to “huge uncertainties” around potential impacts, Weir said.

The air pollution unleashed could lead to many health problems

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Perhaps the most enduring images of the war are of darkened skies from oil infrastructure set ablaze by airstrikes, including two weeks ago when black rain fell near Tehran, Iran’s capital.

Soot, ash and toxic chemicals from strikes on fuel depots and a refinery combined with water droplets in the atmosphere and fell back to Earth as an oily, acidic rain that prompted warnings to stay indoors. Microscopic soot raises risks of lung and heart problems, while toxic chemicals pose long-term cancer risks and heavy metals from the fallout could contaminate soil and water supplies, experts said.

Debris and contamination from missiles, as well as potential strikes on manufacturing facilities and other infrastructure also could unleash harmful pollution throughout the region, experts said.

“If you hit an ammonia-producing plant for fertilizer or for food production … those release chemicals that are absolutely toxic and harmful if they spread,” said Mohammed Mahmoud, head of Middle East Climate and Water Policy with the United Nations University Institute of Water, Environment and Health and founder of the Climate and Water Initiative.

Intensive fossil fuel emissions also are spiking levels of greenhouse gases that cause climate change, experts said. The carbon accounting platform Greenly estimated that the U.S. military alone released almost 2 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases in just the first six days of the war, meaning the actual amount generated by the fighting is certainly much higher, when accounting for Israeli and Iranian emissions and damage to infrastructure.

That is a significant amount in such a short time, as in an entire year around 50 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases are released around the entire world, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Global oil shortages also are causing some countries to resume or increase their use of coal, which creates more air pollution that hurts people, and more greenhouse gas emissions.

Continued access to clean water is a big concern

Countries in the arid Persian Gulf region rely on hundreds of desalination plants for drinking water, raising health and security risks if plants are damaged or water is polluted, experts say.

Iran has said a U.S airstrike damaged one of its desalination plants, while neighboring Bahrain accused Iran of damaging one of its plants. Experts fear more could be targeted the longer the war goes on.

People in the region “struggle with having access to clean drinking water, even at peace times,” said Madani, the Iranian scientist and U.N. official. “Any damage to water infrastructure can have long-lasting impacts.”

Weir worries that pollution, including oil, from sunken ships and other sources could clog desalination plants or that they could be knocked offline by attacks on power plants.

Experts say pollution also could damage fisheries and important ecosystems. Though some contaminants will be dispersed and diluted by water that moves through the gulf, heavy metals and toxic chemicals still could settle in sediment.

“It’s an enclosed basin, quite shallow,” Weir said. “There are sensitive habitats there, coral reefs, seagrass meadows, sensitive species which could be impacted.”

Nuclear risks are largely unknown

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