MOX plant start-up widely condemned

The Government and Opposition parties reacted angrily to confirmation that operations have begun at the controversial MOX plant at Sellafield. Workers brought radioactive plutonium into the plant early yesterday morning in a move that will see increased levels of nuclear waste dumped into the Irish Sea.

The action was universally condemned here but heralded by Sellafield as a positive development. "This is wonderful news for [the MOX plant] and is the best Christmas present we could have had," the head of operations for MOX, Mr Jack Allen, said yesterday.

Sellafield's operator, BNFL, acknowledged that it had "commenced the first stage of active plutonium commissioning" of the plant. At 2.15 a.m. yesterday morning it had "transferred plutonium-bearing material" into the plant as part of a "phased and prudent ramp-up of commissioning for MOX fuel manufacture".

A group of about 100 Irish protesters gathered later yesterday morning outside Sellafield's north gate. Two politicians, Mr John Gormley (Greens) and Senator Fergus O'Dowd (Fine Gael) also attended.

There were police on hand but no arrests were made, Mr Gormley said. He criticised the Government's performance on the issue, claiming it was "completely reactive".

The opening of the MOX plant was regrettable, according to the Minister of State for Public Enterprise, Mr Joe Jacob. He added, however, that it represented the beginning "of a long journey of legal initiatives from which we will not be diverted".

"Today's start-up serves to harden our determination to stop this MOX facility and to have Sellafield shut down," said Mr Jacob, who holds special responsibility for nuclear safety.

The commissioning of MOX was "a damning indictment" of the Government's record on Sellafield, according to the Labour TD, Mr Emmet Stagg. "The Government should hang its head in shame at today's news," he said, while criticising its "belated efforts" to challenge the decision to authorise the MOX plant.

"An examination of the Government's record reveals the fact that Ireland's campaign against Sellafield was significantly downgraded when FF and the PDs came to office," he added. "Its record has been appalling."

Senator O'Dowd, who also attended the Sellafield protest action, urged the Government to begin forming a coalition of parliamentarians from other EU states who could help lobby against the Sellafield complex. He also said the Government should publish a UN document, Report on Protection Against Nuclear Terrorism, published on November 30th by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), of which the Republic is a member.

It was not for the Government to publish the UN report, a spokeswoman for the Department of Public Enterprise said yesterday. "It is a restricted document and not in the public domain," she added. Any decision to release the report lay with the IAEA. BNFL built the £663 million (€842 million) MOX plant to manufacture fuel pellets for use in nuclear reactors. It blends powdered uranium and plutonium recovered from spent reactor fuel and bakes this into ceramic pellets for export to reactors around the world. It will take two or three weeks before the plant begins manufacturing useable fuel pellets.