Fianna Fail renews calls for Sellafield closure

Fianna Fáil today renewed its calls for the Sellafield nuclear power plant to close over its "abysmal" safety record.

Mr Pat Carey, TD for Dublin North West, claimed that the plant's management showed a "flexible attitude" to safety and their "penny-pinching" posed a grave risk to the public.

He said this view was proven by a report from a senior British nuclear physicist, who is taking legal action against the plant's owners British Nuclear Fuels Ltd (BNFL) for constructive dismissal.

Mr Ronald Hanas was responsible for monitoring the control of plutonium and uranium at the plant.

He alleged at a British employment tribunal on Thursday that radioactive material was often left unsupervised and that inspections by the Environmental Protection Agency were treated as "a bit of a joke".

He said there was "an unwillingness to disrupt operations or draw attention from the head of the site" and safety issues were therefore slack.

"If these accusations are true - and they do fit in with the pattern of safety lapses that we have witnessed to date - they are extremely worrying and further point up the need to close Sellafield," Mr Carey said.

Ireland is currently taking action against Britain under the UN Law of the Sea over the opening of the new MOX reprocessing facility last month.

The Government won a partial victory last year when a Hamburg-based UN tribunal told Britain to co-operate with Ireland and not to exacerbate Irish fears.

Additional Reporting: PA