Gormley says he is committed to seeing closure of Sellafield

MINISTER FOR the Environment John Gormley has said he is still committed to seeing the cessation of reprocessing operations at the Sellafield nuclear plant.

A study published yesterday for Friends of the Earth revealed Sellafield has the world’s largest stockpile of plutonium and uranium, and storage tanks containing radioactive waste “more dangerous” than the Chernobyl reactor.

It also said Britain’s nuclear recycling centre had suffered “many near-disastrous episodes in its history; but accidents and technical and management failures in the past 10 years have brought this production line of linked nuclear factories to a crisis”.

Labour Party TD Joanna Tuffy yesterday accused Mr Gormley of allowing the Sellafield issue to drop off the political agenda since he became a Cabinet member.

However, the Green Party Minister said he, department officials and the Radiological Protection Institute would be carefully considering the content and implications of the report.

“I have always had concerns in relation to the operations at Sellafield, and since entering office I have articulated them to the UK government at both ministerial and official levels.

“I am very aware of the legacy of accidents and incidents that have occurred at Sellafield over the years, and the implications for the people and the environment of Ireland that could arise.

“The programme for government continues the commitment to pursuing our political, diplomatic and legal efforts with a view to securing the safe decommissioning of all nuclear reprocessing facilities at Sellafield.”

Oisin Coghlan of Friends of the Earth said the report underscored points environmental campaigners have made for years.

“It reiterates the size of the nuclear stockpile and, given the track record for safety, that is a real concern.”

The report also revealed that despite “billions of pounds of investment in hardware” the nuclear industry was still struggling to deal with nuclear waste.

Mr Coghlan said this “economic madness” was a really devastating aspect, but it could open the eyes of the British government to the drawbacks of nuclear energy.

A spokeswoman for Sellafield Ltd, the operators of the plant, said they remained committed to reducing stocks of highly active waste in line with its safety regulator’s requirements.