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The Green Party has today reiterated its call on
Minister Dick Roche to visit the Thorp plant in Sellafield and express his
concerns directly to the plant management. The latest internal report
issued by British Nuclear Fuels Ltd has confirmed that the recent leak at
Sellafield, which was discovered in April, had gone undetected for nine
months. The leak at the Thorp reprocessing plant in Cumbria led to 83,000
litres of radioactive material - enough to fill a swimming pool - leaking into a
concrete container during the nine-month period.
Green Party Environment spokesperson Ciarán
Cuffe said today that, "This report underlines the Green Party's
concerns in relation to the risks posed by the Sellafield plant. The fact
that the report found that there is 'operational complacency' among staff at the
plant is terrifying and proves that it is now time to close this highly
dangerous plant for good."
Mr Cuffe welcomed the decision of the
Oireachtas Committee on the Environment to travel to Cumbria to visit the
troubled plant in September but added that Minister Dick Roche should also make
such a trip.
"Minister Roche has stated that this
report provides unequivocal evidence that the safety culture and practices at
Sellafield fall far short of assurances previously given by the UK
Government. If he really believes in this statement he will travel to
Cumbria to meet with both BNFL management and government representatives to make
clear the urgent concerns of the people of Ireland as soon as
possible."
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CiaranCuffe.com