Irish take out anti-nuclear advert

Ireland has raised concerns about Sellafield

LONDON, England -- The Irish Government has used a full-page newspaper advert to appeal to the British Government to close its Sellafield nuclear fuel plant.

The advertisement in The Times was signed by members of Ireland's ruling Fianna Fail party including Prime Minister Bertie Ahern and said the plant in northern England was an environmental and security hazard.

It is the latest in a long-running dispute with Britain about the potential environmental threat the plant poses, located on the other side of the Irish Sea.

"Sellafield poses an unacceptable and unnecessary risk to our environment," the advertisement said.

"Furthermore, in the aftermath of the September 11 assault...we also believe that Sellafield poses a grave security risk to both our countries."

The British Government has been reluctant to reveal security details imposed at the plant following the suicide attacks on New York's twin towers and Pentagon. France has said it has installed surface to air missiles at its nuclear locations.

The plant, which is due to begin production of MOX fuel -- a mix of uranium oxides and plutonium -- in late December, is located in Cumbria, northwest England, near the Irish Sea coast.

Earlier this month Dublin took its case to a United Nations tribunal, claiming the plant breached the 1982 United Nations Law of the Sea Convention (LOSC).

It followed a ruling by Britain's High Court which said Prime Minister Tony Blair's government had acted lawfully in giving approval in September for the operator, BNFL, to begin production of MOX.

London has defended its position, saying in a written response to the U.N. tribunal that the United Kingdom did not plan any action in the near or long term that would damage Ireland's rights under the sea convention "or cause serious harm to the marine environment."

The U.N. tribunal is expected to rule in early December on whether Ireland should be granted an injunction.

A BNFL spokesman said it would be inappropriate to comment on the advert, saying it was "an issue between the two governments."

But the move was welcomed by campaigners in Cumbria who said they fully supported the Irish stance and sympathised with their concerns.

Janine Allis-Smith, a spokeswoman for Cumbrians Opposed to a Radioactive Environment, said: "They (the Irish) carry all the risks of Sellafield both in terms of possible terrorist attacks and pollution.