Sellafield leak proves case for 'permanent shutdown'

Monday, October 16, 2006 - 06:37 PM

UK authorities should ensure the Thorp plant at Sellafield remains permanently closed down, it was claimed today as the nuclear operators were fined €743,000 following a radioactive leak.

Around 83,000 litres of acid containing 20 tonnes of uranium and 160kg of plutonium escaped from a broken pipe into a sealed concrete holding site at the Thorp plant in west Cumbria in April 2005.

Environment Minister Dick Roche stressed safety issues and concerns remain around Sellafield.

The operator of the plant, British Nuclear Group Sellafield Ltd, were fined €743,000 and €101,000 costs by Carlisle Crown Court today.

The operators had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to three counts of breaching conditions attached to the Sellafield site licence, granted under the Nuclear Installations Act 1965.

Mr Roche welcomed the actions of the UK Regulator in holding the operators accountable for the serious lapses in safety procedures at the plant.

“The level of this fine, together with the fines already imposed by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority earlier this year, goes some way towards reflecting the serious issues which resulted in the leak of this large volume of toxic material.

"However it gives little comfort that the poor, ongoing safety culture identified can, or will, be tackled by the UK authorities,” Mr Roche said.

“We have been here before. The new safety dawn promised, and ultimately signed off on, by the UK regulatory authorities has proved to be false. The Irish Government’s concerns are in no way diminished by this episode.

"This leak provides further evidence, if such were needed, that the UK authorities should make the current shutdown of the Thorp plant a permanent feature.”

Richard Matthews, prosecuting, said the first indication of a leak at the Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant (Thorp) was on August 24, 2004 when 50 grams of uranium was detected following a sample test.

The full extent of the leak was finally uncovered on April 14, 2005 and Thorp was shut down four days later and remains closed.

The minister said the Irish Government would continue to hold the UK government accountable and responsible for the operation of the Sellafield plant.

“As Minister for the Environment, I will continue to articulate these concerns clearly and consistently, not only to the UK Government and Administration, but also to the European Commission,” Mr Roche said.

The court heard that the leak should have been detected within days rather than eight months.

Mr Justice Openshaw said British Nuclear Group Sellafield did not have a good safety record.

The court heard that the company had seven previous convictions on safety related matters and had received fines totalling more than €171,000 but none of these involved a leak.

The court was told that a change in the handling process had caused the leak.

In a statement the Health and Safety Executive, which brought the case, said: “Our extensive investigation into the events at Thorp has shown that British Nuclear Group Sellafield Ltd fell well below required standards for a considerable period of time, something we are not prepared to tolerate.”