Sellafield gets go-ahead to make MOX fuel

The British Government has given the go-ahead for the manufacture of mixed oxide fuel (MOX) in the Sellafield nuclear plant in Cumbria.

British Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett and Health Secretary Alan Milburn both said the move is "justified" and in line with EU law.

However, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and the Irish Green Party have all criticised the decision.

Charles Secrett, director of Friends of the Earth, said it was a political decision that makes no economic or environmental sense.

He also said the move might be illegal.

"It beggars belief that the [British] Government can give the go-ahead to a process involving the use and transportation of plutonium that could be used to make weapons," he added.

Stephen Tindale, the executive director of Greenpeace in Britain, described the decision as "dangerously irresponsible" and "downright stupid".

Trevor Sergeant of the Green Party said the move will increase operations at Sellafield at a time when most people are calling for the plant to be shut down because of its age and because it is now seen as a target for Islamic fundamentalists. He added that MOX, a mixture of plutonium and uranium, will be transported from Sellafield to other plants which were not designed to use this fuel. Mr Sergeant said he also believes the manufacture of MOX in Sellafield will lead to an increase in the dumping of waste in the Irish Sea, which is already the most radioactive sea in the world.