Roche receives new information on Sellafield leak

New information on the latest leak at the Thorp nuclear fuel reprocessing plant at Sellafield is "a further damning indictment…

New information on the latest leak at the Thorp nuclear fuel reprocessing plant at Sellafield is "a further damning indictment" of the plant's safety record, the Minister for the Environment has said.

In a statement, Dick Roche said his Department was updated today by the British authorities regarding the recent leak of nuclear material from a pipe into a sealed unit.

The investigation by the British Nuclear Group found evidence to suggest the pipe that leaked may have started to fail in August 2004.

The latest information is a further damning indictment of the Thorp plant and Sellafield's safety record
Minister for the Environment Dick Roche

It finally failed in mid-January of this year and "opportunities were missed" to show that material from it was escaping into a secondary containment cell, the investigation revealed.

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"This secondary containment cell ensured there was no release of radioactivity to the environment. While the failure could not have been prevented at this stage, had these opportunities been taken the quantity of liquid released could have been significantly reduced," Mr Roche said.

"The pattern with Sellafield is well established and consistent. A serious incident occurs, the investigation reveals serious safety failures and weaknesses, recommendations are drawn up and implemented, and further assurances given that the plant is safe.

"However, this pattern is untenable and the safety record at the plant has given the Irish Government serious cause for concern for some time. This latest information serves only to increase the concerns of the Government and to reinforce our efforts to secure the safe and orderly closure of Sellafield."

"The latest information does not have implications for Ireland and does not change the overall situation as described in earlier press releases on the matter," Mr Roche said.

"However, the latest information is a further damning indictment of the Thorp plant and Sellafield's safety record."

"This does nothing to instill confidence in the Sellafield plant and it demonstrates the Irish Government's justification for taking the international legal actions which we embarked upon."

Mr Roche said his has asked the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland and his officials to continue to liase closely with their UK counterparts.

"The Institute will be taking a specific interest in the investigation and report on the incident by the UK Regulator which is currently underway."

The Minister said he has also raised the Thorp incident with the European Commissioner for Energy Andris Piebalgs.