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Dún Laoghaire, Environment, Justice and Latest Press Releases

21 September 2005

Details of new leak at Sellafield confirm that plant is still a threat and must be closed as soon as possible

Environment Committee learns of new leak while visiting nuclear plant today 

Green Party says new Sellafield leak requires action from Roche

The Green Party has called on the Minister for the Environment Dick Roche TD to explain his lack of action over the most recent leak at Sellafield. The call comes as a Parliamentary delegation from the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Environment returned from a visit to the troubled Sellafield Complex.

The leak was discovered in one of the two sea discharge pipes last Thursday morning the 15^th September 2005. Information about the leak was communicated to the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland last Friday, and would have been made available to Minister Roche.

Green Party Environment Spokesperson Ciaran Cuffe TD stated:

“It appears that the Minister has failed to inform the Irish public of this latest incident. Instead he chose to dismiss our visit to the Plant as a ‘junket’. He also accused the Green Party of ‘twisting the truth’.

“I did call publicly on Minister Roche to visit the site with the Committee. It was not up to me to issue him with an invitation. As a Minister for the Environment he should take that initiative himself. In the course of our visit, we were given information about this new leak that had not been made public, and we obtained significant information about the Plant. Minister Roche must visit the plant and look BNFL management in the eye.

“The details that we obtained of this new leak at the Sellafield Plant are troubling. In a lunch-time meeting on the 20^th September 2005 as part of our visit John Clarke the head of the troubled Thorp Plant dismissed the leak as a minor one. However in a later meeting that day, Andy Mayall of the UK Environment Agency gave us more details of the problem.

“The leak lies only 500 metres from the shoreline end of one of the two 2000 metre long sea discharge pipelines. It lies in a section of pipeline 120 centimetres under the seabed. This section of the shore can be just about uncovered by spring tides. There is apparently a one metre long crack in the pipe with a 5 centimetre gash in this section.

“Radioactivity has been detected at the gash, but thus far has not been found on the seabed surrounding the crack. It is not yet clear whether the crack occurred due to corrosion or impact or both. According to Mr. Mayall this section of the beach is accessible to the general public. He informed us that repairs were being made today with clamps, rubber seals and plates. The leak was discovered during monthly pressure testing of the pipe.

“Our visit throws new light on the difficulties at the Sellafield Plant. Clearly the Irish Government and Minister Roche should be taking action rather than criticising a parliamentary delegation for doing what they were elected to do. He should also be ensuring that information about such leaks is immediately made public. He should also visit the Plant and inspect it for himself on behalf of the Irish people.”

ENDS