No longer any military activity at Sellafield, say plant operators

THE operators of the Sellafield nuclear complex have given a "categorical assurance" that there is no longer any military activity at the plant and no refinement of nuclear materials for military purposes.

The assurances came during a public meeting on Sellafield held over the weekend at Dundalk RTC. The question and answer session, which involved representatives from Sellafield's operators, British Nuclear Fuels Ltd (BNFL), the local TD, Mr Dermot Ahern, and residents of Dundalk was chaired by the RTC's director, Dr Sean McDonagh.

The meeting, which was organised by a local Fianna Fail cumann, had only a moderate attendance of about 40 people. Even so, exchanges occasionally became heated as locals took exception to the plant's operating record and answers given by BNFL representatives.

The panel included Mr David Coulston, director of safety, health and environmental protection at BNFL, Mr John Kane, a senior trade union official and staff representative at the plant, and Mr Richard Mrowicki, the plant's director of magnox reprocessing. The local view was represented by Ms Darina Muckian, a native of Dundalk who lives in the town, Ms Deirdre Cantwell, former chair of the Irish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament who also lives locally, and the Fianna Fail chief whip, Mr Ahern.

Mr Ahern pressed the BNFL group on the military aspects of the plant, including plutonium refinement for military purposes. "Are you giving us a categorical assurance the Sellafield plant has no military input for the UK or abroad?" Mr Coulston responded with a categorical assurance there was no military programme there plutonium refinement for the military, although there had been in the past. This activity he said, was no longer carried out at, Sellafield.

The possibility of a Chernobyltype explosion at Sellafield was raised, but this was dismissed by BNFL staff. It was a chemical plant operating at low temperatures and pressures, Mr Mrowicki stated, designed to high standards and matching or exceeding recognised international standards.

Mr Coulston said a Chernobyl type accident could not occur at Sellafield, adding that "a Chernobyl type plant couldn't have been built in the UK because of safety demands there.

Ms Cantwell suggested that BNFL was concentrating on a Chernobyl type accident, but that there was an issue to be addressed given that some of the plant was operating well beyond its original expected 20 year life.

Asked how people here could have any confidence in the management of the plant given are repeated accidents and reports of contamination, Mr Kane said: "If the plant was not safe we [the unions] would be looking for it to be closed down."

There had been incident after incident with BNFL being dragged over the coals Mr Ahern, stated.

Mr Bernard Markey from the audience pressed BNFL officials to reveal what their own "worst case scenarios" were, but Mr Coulston said: "I don't give a worst case scenario, because it couldn't happen. It is a figment of the imagination."

Mr Ahern said: "The question that has been posed apologists for the nuclear industry don't want to answer because the consequences, are unthinkable." This represented the "entire basis" of Ireland's objections to the Sellafield plant, he added.

Asked by Ms Cantwell about access to the site by independent international observers, Mr Mrowicki said: "They have access to any part of the site any time of the day or night any time of the year"