European neighbors blast scandal-plagued U.K. nuclear plant

Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant

March 30, 2000
Web posted at: 3:30 p.m. EST (2030 GMT)

From Correspondent Margaret Lowrie

CUMBRIA, England -- Danish and Irish officials met this week to discuss closing down a scandal-plagued nuclear reprocessing plant in northeast England. Britain's neighbors have long been concerned about radioactive waste discharged into the Irish sea by the facility.

British Nuclear Fuels (BNF), the company that runs the Sellafield plant, was recently found guilty of falsifying safety records on plutonium sent to Japan, according to Scilla Elworthy of the Oxford Research Group.

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"And so all over the world now, customers of BNF are becoming extremely nervous," Elworthy said.

British officials apologized for the falsified data, but Japan, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland have all threatened to boycott the facility. Even British nuclear reactors may pull their business.

Environmentalists have additional concerns about Sellafield, fearful of radioactive waste dumped into the North Sea.

"Because spent nuclear fuel has to be dissolved in concentrated nitric acid that creates liquid wastes that either have to be stored and dealt with or to some extent discharged, either into atmosphere or into the Irish Sea," said Mark Johnston with Friends of the Earth.

The discharges from Sellafield into the sea are causing a political storm in Europe. Ireland wants the plant closed because of the radioactive pollution. And earlier this week, Danish officials shared their concerns.

"After we know how vulnerable the Irish sea, the North Atlantic and the Arctic is, the time has come to suspend operations there," said Svend Auken, the Danish energy minister.

Making matters worse, sensitive equipment was deliberately damaged in two separate incidents at Sellafield. Police suspect an unknown saboteur inside the plant.

"It's clearly an inside job," said Jack Dromey, Sellafield's union spokesman.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair suggested that the processing plant's days could be numbered.

"The government is seeking to reassure the public these issues will be addressed, but it appears Sellafield's future is in serious doubt.

Plant officials declined to comment, but they were expected to explain Sellafield's problems before a select committee of Parliament this week.

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