nuclear-news

Btitain’s dilemma of its massive stockpile of plutonium at Sellafield

Sellafield is where all storage of radioactive materials and nuclear reprocessing in the UK takes place. It was once at the heart of plutonium manufacturing for the British atomic weapons program. Despite the controversy that surrounds the plant, there are plans to build new reactors at Sellafield. The government has approved initial plans to build a fast PRISM reactor on the site. Most locals are against it. They want the UK government to commission a safety study into Sellafield’s effects on the health of the local population.

A study in the 1980’s found that over ten times the national average of childhood Leukaemia’s occurred near Sellafield. Thirty families tried to take the company who then ran the site to court and lost. “There has never been a proper investigation into the environmental impact of the plant and there should be.”

Sellafield: The dangers of Britain’s nuclear dustbin RT, 10 July, 2012 Britain’s nuclear industry is again the center of controversy. The UK has the biggest stockpile of Plutonium in the world, but there are no definite plans for how to get rid of it – and the delays are costing the UK taxpayer billions.
A record number of radioactive particles have been found on beaches near the Sellafield nuclear plant, in North West England. The authorities who run it admit it’s the most radioactive place in Western Europe but insist it’s safe.

Sellafield is where all storage of radioactive materials and nuclear reprocessing in the UK takes place. It was once at the heart of plutonium manufacturing for the British atomic weapons program. Despite the controversy that surrounds the plant, there are plans to build new reactors at Sellafield. The government has approved initial
plans to build a fast PRISM reactor on the site. Most locals are against it. They want the UK government to commission a safety study into Sellafield’s effects on the health of the local population.

Janine Allis-Smith has a lot of experience of dealing with the fallout
from Sellafield.  She is a senior campaigner from Cumbrians Opposed to
a Radioactive Environment (CORE) and lives only a few miles from the
plant. Her son was diagnosed with Leukaemia and she blames Sellafield.
She told RT, “Kids play on the beaches, they get sand in their
clothes.” This sand, she explains, could contain dangerous radioactive
particles released from the nuclear complex and “Parents have a right
to know the risks”.
Anti-nuclear campaigners are demanding the beaches be closed or at
least signs put up warning the public of the potential danger.
Sellafield has been monitoring a number of beaches near the plant
since 2006, when it was ordered to do so by the UK government’s
Environment Agency after the discovery of a highly radioactive
particles.  Between 2010 and 2011, 383 radioactive particles were
found and removed.
However, locals claim they are not sufficiently informed about the
pollution at the site. Allis-Smith explained that they are fulfilling
the legal minimum requirement, so that although information is
available, no-one knows about it. The local council has refused to
become involved.
A study in the 1980’s found that over ten times the national average of childhood Leukaemia’s occurred near Sellafield. Thirty families tried to take the company who then ran the site to court and lost. “There has never been a proper investigation into the environmental impact of the plant and there should be.” Allis-Smith said.
http://www.rt.com/news/sellafield-uk-radioactive-plutonium-843/

July 11, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | - plutonium, UK