nuclear-news

INS (InternationalNuclear Services ) second class safety for MOX transport

INS (InternationalNuclear Services — a subsidiary of the NDA) appears hell-bent on
shipping this MOX fuel to Germany on a third-hand ship with second class safety and kept afloat on first class INS PR alone

International Nuclear Services Putting Business Before Safety http://lifeboat.com/blog/2012/09/international-nuclear-services-putting-business-before-safety by Tom Kerwick  Whilst I was checking up on C.O.R.E. (Cumbrians Opposed to a Radioactive Environment) this weekend, I read of latest plans to ship plutonium MOX fuel assemblies from Sellafield to the small German port of Nordenham near Bremerhaven on the NDA’s (Nuclear Decommissioning Authority) ageing ship Atlantic Osprey.

The Atlantic Osprey, built in 1986, is a roll-on roll-off ferry
purchased third hand by British Nuclear Fuels plc (BNFL) in 2001 and
converted to carry radioactive materials. It is the only ship not to
be custom-built of the UK’s designated nuclear cargo ships, and so is
not double-hulled, and has only a single engine, among other
short-comings.

According to CORE it has a chequered history as a nuclear carrier that
includes an engine-room fire and breakdowns at sea, and equivalent
sister ships have historically been retired at or before a standard 25
years of service. Whilst the ship is soon to finally brought to the
scrapyard, it is due to be replaced by a 25-year old ship Oceanic
Pintail recently saved from the scrap yard itself — and one would get
the impression that the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority are cutting
corners on safety to save on expenditure.

CORE spokesman Martin Forwood has pointed out that INS (International
Nuclear Services — a subsidiary of the NDA) appears hell-bent on
shipping this MOX fuel to Germany on a third-hand ship with second
class safety and kept afloat on first class INS PR alone” and on
learning about the current state of affairs, one would be inclined to
agree.

“The shipment of such highly dangerous nuclear material should never
be entrusted to a ship not only past its sell-by date but also
described recently in the press as a rust-bucket. Given its known
safety and security weaknesses which now include the apparent lack of
the vital sonardyne sunken vessel location system, using the Atlantic
Osprey for the German MOX is a prime example of the nuclear industry
putting business before safety. Common sense dictates that these plans
should be abandoned immediately”.

Although the CORE concern is quite specific in this case, it raises
the broader question — on what are acceptable safety standards for the
nuclear industry as a whole — and to what extent such businesses cut
corners for financial reasons — at the expense of public safety.

Learn about C.O.R.E: http://corecumbria.co.uk/

September 12, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, UK