shut sellafield

where is the debate? 2 ministers back there was a call for a debate when Green Party were in the environment portfolio.

in the Indo 31/12/2014

Mr White also holds the commendable view that any serious debate about future energy needs must include the nuclear option. But therein lies the danger. There can be little doubt that this unlikely scenario will become the focus of any subsequent debate.

Various interests will become polarised on the nuclear issue, rather than focusing on the real and more pressing issues of delivering safe and efficient electricity and gas supplies and ensuring that we do not have a second-class energy network to go with our well-recognised second-class water network.

While there is always a place for ‘Nimbyism’, there is also a pressing need for Irish people to recognise that the common good should, in certain circumstances, prevail over individual and vested interests.

what are the chances the debate will begin in the year before or of a general election ? low to none.

Non-essential Sellafield staff told to stay away due to elevated levels of radioactivity

RTÉ  

BBC

Part of the plant is being cleared to allow detailed investigations and the “relevant experts” are on site, a Sellafield spokesman said.

UPDATE 01/02/14
British nuclear plant says radiation alert due to natural radon gas
you couldn’t make it up, but they could.

ONE OF THE closest nuclear power plants to Ireland “continues to cause concern” to the British Nuclear watchdog.The Office for Nuclear Regulation ONR in the UK said that a quarter of their inspectors work at Sellafield, attempting to improve such things as nuclear waste storage facilities.The ONR’s head inspector Colin Patchett said that there were a number of issues at Sellafield.“Some legacy facilities at Sellafield require a significantly enhanced level of regulatory attention and we continue to engage with the licensee to ensure improvements are made

via Sellafield facilities “do not meet modern standards” – UK nuclear watchdog.

Irish authorities welcomed the (damning) report.

Here in Ireland, the Department of Environment welcomed the report and said Ireland will continue to work with British authorities in decommissioning the plant.
“Given our long-standing concerns in relation to Sellafield we welcome the report from the UK Office for Nuclear Regulation and also a previous report from the UK National Audit Office in relation to managing risk reduction at Sellafield. We believe that it is important that the Sellafield site and its operations are subject to independent scrutiny, such as that undertaken in the preparation of these reports.

but in November 2012 the Irish Govt. received their own report that blew cold water on the dangers of Sellafield. Cold water is good I hear for heating rods.

How can Irish govt. say

We believe that it is important that the Sellafield site and its operations are subject to independent scrutiny

When they called for Sellafield to be included on a list of sites to be inspected after Fukushima explosions. The site was added. The Irish Govt. welcomed this. The site was then removed from the list. The Irish Govt. said nothing!

So Irish Govt. think

1. Sellafield is not a risk (but UK’s HSE & NAO & ONR do think it is)
2. Its OK for Sellafield not to be tested as no one will notice it being removed from the list – sssh!
3. it’s good to welcome reports but don’t really object to it at all

Is anyone paying attention to this. It’s old, it’s the oldest in the world, it’s dangerous, it’s broke as a business (MOX plant closing), it is continuing to cost billions to the UK tax payer to (not) clean up, and future new build nuclear can only be built with unprecedented state backing and incentives with high price fixed buy back of energy.

There is one thing I will agree with the pro nuclear lobby, it is not going away any time soon, not in my life time not in its half life time, it will be here even when we stop. So we should stop it now. Shut Sellafield.

via Morning Star
An Investigation has been launched into a near catastrophe at a nuclear reprocessing plant at Sellafield in Cumbria – despite bosses’ attempts to downplay the seriousness of the incident.

A chemical used in the process was mistakenly placed in the wrong storage tank.

The error was spotted before the reprocessing of radioactive material began, averting a disaster which could have wrecked the reprocessing system.

Sellafield Ltd, the private company which operates Sellafield nuclear power station, confirmed today that an investigation was taking place into how the error happened.

The company said there had been no threat to its staff or the environment.

But the Manchester-based Nuclear Free Local Authorities secretariat said it was “alarming” that Sellafield Ltd had classified the incident as a “non-radiological event.”

The incident happened at Sellafield’s Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant (Thorp) on May 14.
more

If climate change concerns you, consider nuclear power, which, according to many of its proponents, does not involve emissions of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases. But is this true? Kristin Shrader-Frechette contests those claims; she also discusses the financial costs of nuclear energy, the risks to human health it poses, the perils of industry-funded science, and the contours of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.

via Against The Grain