TODAY. Sellafield scandals – a case study in why the nuclear industry must be shut down.

If you had any illusions about the nuclear industry being “clean” and “safe” and “honest”, the latest bit of news in the tawdry saga of UK’s Sellafield nuclear waste dump might cause you to stop and think.

It doesn’t seem that much – “prosecution for alleged cybersecurity offences” and “no suggestion that public safety has been compromised”.

But if you bother to do your homework on this sprawling rubbish dump, the world’s most complex nuclear site, with the world’s largest stockpile of plutonium – you will find a litany of alarming nuclear stories:

Sellafield: ‘bottomless pit of hell, money and despair’ at Europe’s most toxic nuclear site
secrecy valued more than public safety.
Cracks in ponds holding highly radioactive fuel rods. wastes pumped into the seas. Irish Sea contaminated with plutonium.
US, Norway and Ireland anxious over risk of a devastating accident.
sudden changes in security leadership.
Office for Budget Responsibility – site poses a “material source of fiscal risk” to the country.
a toxic workplace culture.
site hacked by groups linked to Russia and China. Dishonesty:
British authorities knew it was wrong to proceed with the thermal oxide reprocessing plant (Thorp) at Sellafield.

And what does the world nuclear authority, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have to say about all this? –

“World nuclear chief praises Sellafield progress”

Wake up world!

I’m sorry to have to say this, – but you can’t depend on the world leaders and the nuclear authorities to tell you the truth about this ghastly industry. So many depend on it for their livelihood, for their local economy – etc etc. But the truth must be told.

The political and business leaders are waiting till after their retirement – hoping that the shit won’t hit the fan while they might cop the blame. Like the security bosses at Sellafield, they might have to get out in time. I wonder how long Rafael Grossi can last, can keep up the pretense.

Sellafield is arguably the worst case of nuclear danger and corruption. But then there are the horrors of the Russian nuclear industry, including City 40. Then there’s Japan, with its eternal Fukushima calamity, and its many nuclear reactors close to earthquake zones.

It’s really only thanks to Anna Isaac and Alex Lawson, of the Guardian, that we get to find out about Sellafield.

And to others, like Kate Brown. revealing the reality of the nuclear waste-plutonium disaster endangering the planet

And I wonder, as the USA prepares to lock up Julian Assange forever, how long will the powerful allow these intrepid writers to spill the beans on nuclear scandals?