Nuclear facilities risk analysis never compiled

THE Government has never compiled a risk analysis of which nuclear facilities around the world pose the greatest danger to Ireland in the event of an accident or terrorist attack.

According to the International Autonomic Energy Agency (IAEA), there were 441 nuclear power plants in operation as of December, with a further 25 currently under construction. But despite the experience of Chernobyl in 1986, when the tail end of the accident’s plume saw radioactivity levels rise significantly in the Donegal/Derry area, the Government has no indication of which facilities pose the greatest danger.

A spokesman for Environment Minister Dick Roche - who heads up the National Expert Group on Nuclear Emergency - confirmed a risk analysis had never been compiled.