Sellafield threat - Access deal step in right direction

THE landmark agreement, ensuring that Britain and Ireland co-operate in the event of a "significant" nuclear incident is, on the face of it, a positive twist in the long-running row between the two governments over the Sellafield threat to this country.

But the deal is sure to raise fears that Ireland could be muzzled in its campaign to shut down the controversial facility, which has a long history of accidents.

Thanks to discharges from Sellafield, the Irish Sea became the most radioactive body of water in the world. What the nuclear industry euphemistically terms "incidents" are also alleged to have caused cancer black-spots on Ireland's east coast.

Of immediate concern is the threat of a terrorist strike against the highly controversial reprocessing operation in Cumbria. In the event of a terrorist bomb attack there, the fallout would have disastrous repercussions for Ireland.

It was against this turbulent backdrop that new nuclear safety measures were signed yesterday by Environment Minister Dick Roche and British Ambassador Stewart Eldon. Effectively, under the package, gardaí and members of the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland would be allowed to visit Sellafield following a significant incident. Arguably, that is akin to closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.

Nevertheless, the move to make it easier for Irish officials to get into Sellafield is a welcome development. The same can be said of the decision to give Irish experts access to Britain's radiation monitoring system.

Despite this breakthrough, however, the deal has opened Energy Minister Dermot Ahern to an opposition charge of hypocrisy and double standards over the Government's plan to import electricity through proposed inter-connectors that would link Ireland to the British grid. In a colourful metaphor, Deputy Emmet Stagg claims that to exclude electricity from Sellafield, would be "as easy as extracting an egg from a well-scrambled omelette".

Closer to the bone, he argues that by facilitating the ongoing production of nuclear power, the Government is giving Sellafield a lifeline despite the ongoing threat it poses to this country. By the same token, the purchase of nuclear electricity could be construed as undermining Ireland's opposition to the Cumbrian operation.

That said, the decision to open the gates of Sellafield to Irish officials is a step in the right direction. So deeply entrenched was the bunker mentality at Sellafield that the operators were warned they could face stiff penalties for not meeting stringent EU rules on nuclear waste.

It required the introduction of tough new rules on waste levels to force the reprocessing plant to significantly reduce radioactive discharges. Notwithstanding that improvement, the EU has launched legal proceedings against Britain in the European Court of Justice because it claims Britain has not given proper access for inspections at Sellafield for several years.

So intense was the furore raging around the reprocessing facility that Britain has decided to decommission the plant in coming years. In the run-up to dismantling the giant operation, Britain's newly established Nuclear Decommissioning Authority will take over the site and accelerate the clean-up programme. The power station will have to conform to even tougher limits on emissions in future.

Hopefully, besides bringing a degree of psychological reassurance to the Sellafield debate, the new access agreement will bring real benefits to the Irish people who live in the long shadow of a doomsday accident at Sellafield.