Leaked Report Alleges Safety Problems At British Nuclear Plant: Newspaper

CIVIL NUCLEAR

London (AFP) Oct 02, 2005
An internal report leaked to a Sunday newspaper alleges a "catalogue of dubious practices" and safety measures based on "guesswork" occurred at a plant treating Britain's most dangerous nuclear waste.

The Independent on Sunday said the document revealed that the Sellafield plant -- deemed one of the better-run nuclear centres in the country -- is "potentially dangerous" and "becoming difficult to operate properly".

One of its section headings read: "Homer Simpson works at Sellafield", in reference to the comical, and accident-prone, US cartoon character.

But British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) insisted that safety was its top priority.

"Safety is our number one priority on site and all out activities on site are not only monitored by plant management, but overseen by our regulators," BNFL told the newspaper.

The Independent on Sunday, said: "The document is a shocking indictment of the 250-million-pound (440-million-dollar, 365-million-euro) waste vitrification plant (WVP), which binds the most highly radioactive and dangerous waste produced by the nuclear industry in glass so it can be stored and disposed of easily."

The leaked report claims that the government forced BNFL to call in is French counterpart Cogema to help address concerns about how the plant is run.

"The scientific basis for control of the plant relies at best on interpretation and at worst on guess work," according to the document, which adds that "reports from employees on the site reveal a catalogue of dubious practices."

It continued: "The low morale is endemic and potentially dangerous.

"Control cables to vital robotic arms in the WVP have been cut, waste drums that should hold solid glass have been accidentally filled with highly active liquid waste, faults in safety mechanisms are not reported properly, the plant has become driven by production targets so much that it is becoming difficult to operate properly."

The Sellafield plant, in Cumbria northern England, hit the headlines in May when another Independent on Sunday report said that some 83,000 litres of highly radioactive liquid had leaked unnoticed for up to nine months from a ruptured pipe at the plant, in Britain's worst nuclear accident in years.

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CIVIL NUCLEAR

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