‘SELLAFIELD CHIEF MUST FACE DÁIL’
Anger as EPA insists nuclear leak not a threat to the Irish
A GOVERNMENT TD has called for the operators of Sellafield – the controversial UK nuclear waste plant just over 100 miles from the east coast of Ireland – to appear before an Oireachtas committee amid growing concerns over a radioactive leak at the facility.
Fine Gael TD Fergus O’Dowd said Sellafield’s British state-controlled owner needs to dispel ‘serious public concern’ over the increasingly dilapidated state of the plant.
He told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘This is a matter of urgent public concern, especially for those on the east coast who have long had a problematic relationship with Sellafield. The latest concerns have been raised by utterly reputable scientific figures. This is not some conspiracy theory on X – it comes from authoritative figures.’
The Louth TD and campaigner spoke out after The Guardian newspaper this week reported Sellafield has a worsening leak from a huge silo of radioactive waste that could pose a serious risk to the public.
The revelation emerged following a year-long investigation into cyber hacking, radioactive contamination and toxic workplace culture at Sellafield. It cited concerns that the leak of radioactive liquid from a decaying building at the vast Cumbrian site known as the Magnox Swarf Storage Silo (MSSS) is likely to continue until 2050, with ‘potentially significant consequences’. Cracks have also developed in the concrete and asphalt skin covering the huge pond containing decades of nuclear sludge, which the report said was ‘part of a catalogue of safety problems’.
Britain’s energy secretary, Claire Coutinho, described the allegations as ‘serious and concerning’.
But Government and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have downplayed the risk to the Irish public.
Deputy O’Dowd told the MoS: ‘I expect the Government to take a robust position in defending the interests of Irish citizens, they always have before. The Government has in the past stood up to the UK on the issue of Sellafield – a constant thorn in Ireland’s side.’
A spokesperson for Green Party leader and Minister Eamon Ryan’s Department of the Environment said Ireland ‘has a close working relationship with the UK on radiological issues’.
They added: ‘We engage, as appropriate, with the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero through the UK-Ireland Contact Group on Radiological Matters.’
The spokesperson confirmed the Department and EPA officials visited Sellafield in July and last year, adding they are ‘being kept abreast of all developments’ at the site.
They added: ‘We are satisfied with the level of co-operation provided by the UK Authorities, with regard to the facilities on-site.’
Despite the serious concerns raised in reports this week, the EPA said they consider Sellafield to be a low-risk facility, saying: ‘Nuclear power generation ceased at the site in 2003 and nuclear fuel reprocessing ceased in 2022, substantially reducing risks.’
The EPA said it ‘maintains active and open communications with the authorities with responsibility for regulation’ at Sellafield, adding: ‘The EPA meets with these regulators on an ongoing basis with meetings taking place in October and November of this year.’ They said EPA experts from the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications visited Sellafield in July 2023 and in 2022.
The EPA said it has been ‘kept informed by the UK regulators and Sellafield authorities of the ongoing localised leak and the work being done to address this.
They concluded: ‘There is a negligible risk to the Irish public from the leak.’
But Fergus O’Dowd said public concern ‘needs to be respected’.
He called on the chair of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment and Climate Action, Green Party TD Brian Leddin, to bring in Sellafield and UK authorities for a Dáil grilling, saying: ‘Ireland should not be put in a position of strategic and environmental vulnerability. There’s an obligation on Sellafield to clarify this is not the case and on Irish authorities to ensure this is not the case.’
Sinn Féin environment spokesman Darren O’Rourke described reports as ‘deeply alarming’, adding: We have long known the dangers this poses... the risk of catastrophe has soared. The risk to Irish people from Sellafield is unacceptable, as is the lack of transparency.’
‘Ireland should not be put in a vulnerable position’