Meltdown at Sellafield
national |
environment |
other press 
Wednesday May 11, 2005 01:07
by Brian Vernon
A leak of highly radioactive nuclear fuel dissolved in enough concentrated nitric acid to half-fill an Olympic-size swimming pool has forced the closure of Sellafield, the UK's controversial "reprocessing plant" yet the BBC are unconcerned; playing it down as a minor incident.
It appears the Irish Government are un-concerned also. It seems they knew 3 weeks ago but chose to keep quiet about it.
The leak - at the $5.4 billion Thorp reprocessing plant in northwest England - was discovered last month during an automated inspection.
Speaking yesterday :
"The full facts of the April 18th leak in Sellafield must be known for the Irish people to have any faith in the safety of the facility according to Fine Gael Environment Spokesman, Fergus O’Dowd TD."
“I welcome the Environment Department’s action in contacting their counterparts in the UK and will continue to monitor the situation closely. It is also clear that the Irish Government was informed about the leak last month and the Minister must explain what steps he took at the time.
Comments (3 of 3)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3here's how you can help-
* go round your neighbours and tell them there's no problem.
* phone up the papers and say "there's no problem"
* offer to help in the milking of cows, but just in case move the herd to the leeward side of the field.
* don't go over the top, and paint your windows white or put elderly family members in black plastic bags, remember "there's no problem".
It's interesting to contrast the silence of the Irish government with that of the more distant New Zealand Herald who ran the slightly sensationalist headline re-used for this comment title.
I think thats also how the Beeb ran with the story. Interesting that it was "leaked" to the furthest possible point away, and also interesting that TD's knew about it 3 weeks ago, it happened in mid April. The Brits are obliged under an International Court Order to share information and co-operate with the Irish in matters relating to Sellafield.
See my latest post.
Regards
Brian
Indymedia Ireland is a media collective. We are independent volunteer citizen journalists producing and distributing the authentic voices of the people. Indymedia Ireland is an open news project where anyone can post their own news, comment, videos or photos about Ireland or related matters.