British court rejects Sellafield challenge

The Court of Appeal in Britain has rejected a challenge to the operation of a mixed oxide (MOX) fuel facility at the Sellafield nuclear plant.

Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace had urged the court to overturn a High Court ruling which said the British Government made "no error in law" by granting permission for the MOX plant to operate.

The two environmental groups argued that the £470m it cost Britain to build the facility should be taken into account when assessing its economic viability, something the British government has refused to do.

Under EU law, national governments are obliged to ensure that the economic benefits of new nuclear facilities outweigh any detriment to health and safety before they give the go-ahead.