Cullen calls for clarification over plans for Sellafield plant

THE Government has demanded clarification from Britain following conflicting reports about plans to close the THORP nuclear reprocessing facility at Sellafield.

The Guardian newspaper yesterday reported the controversial operation was to be wound down over the next seven years and close completely by 2010 for conversion to a waste storage facility.

British Nuclear Fuels, which owns and operates Sellafield, initially disputed the report, despite The Guardian’s insistence on its accuracy. However, the company later issued a statement saying it was not possible to say when exactly the facility would close.

“The position regarding the thermal oxide reprocessing plant (THORP) at Sellafield is that all existing reprocessing contracts will be honoured. The current order book extends to at least 2010,” the statement said.

It said any new THORP contracts would be subject to new government restrictions including a process of public consultation.

“It is, therefore, not possible to be definitive about the date of closure of THORP as the future of the plant is subject to a number of factors,” the statement said.

However, Environment Minister Martin Cullen expressed dissatisfaction with the situation and wrote to his British counterpart yesterday seeking “immediate clarification”.

“Public confusion on Sellafield is not acceptable. Time and again we find that information on the operations at the Sellafield plant is muddled and unclear. This debate must be based on accurate, reliable information from credible authoritative sources,” he said.

“How can we be confident that the plant is run in a secure, safe and reliable manner when confusion reigns on a matter as fundamental as the life span of the installations on the site?”

THORP opened amid controversy in 1994 following a high court challenge to the plant and it has been the target of almost continuous criticism from environmentalists and the Irish Government.

The plant is designed to reprocess spent nuclear fuel, breaking it down into components, some of which can be reused to generate electricity.

However, BNFL has been under fire for importing the fuel by sea from as far off as Japan, running under capacity, discharging radioactive waste into the Irish Sea and failing to allay fears about the volatile materials remaining in storage on site after reprocessing.

Ireland is pursuing legal action against the plant through the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg.

The tribunal implements the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The British and Irish governments have been directed to make submissions to the tribunal by September 12.