Seanad Éireann debate -
Friday, 15 May 1992

Vol. 132 No. 11

Adjournment Matters. - Sellafield Nuclear Reprocessing Plant.

Mr. Haughey

I would like to thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach for taking this issue on the Adjournment of the House this evening. I would also like to thank the Minister for Energy for coming here personally to deal with this very important matter.

The Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant at Cumbria has been described as the single biggest threat posed to the future of the Irish people and our natural environment. I would go along with that view and recent history suggests this is indeed the case. There is no doubt there must surely be a threat posed to the people of this country by emissions and discharges from the Sellafield plant. We do not have all the information we require in this regard. There is now under construction at Sellafield a joint plant known as the Thorp plant and it is speculated that emissions from Sellafield will increase even further when this new plant is finally completed and is in operation.

In March 1992 a Professor Roger Berry claimed in Dublin that radioactive discharges and emissions pose no threat to the public health of the citizens in this country. He was quite adamant about that. He claimed that radioactive discharge into the Irish Sea from the plant is now the square root of damn all. I suggest that remarks like that are pure propaganda. I do not know how he can make such adamant and strong statements when we simply do not know the full extent of the threat posed to the health and safety of the citizens of this country caused by the nuclear plant at Sellafield.

In September 1991, for example, a new vitrification plant at Sellafield had to close down when protective doors failed to function properly. That is just one example from a number of accidents or incidents that have taken place at Sellafield throughout the history of its operation. There is now much comment in relation on the proposed repository being planned for Sellafield and doubt have been cast on the safety of this proposed nuclear waste dump.

The House will be aware that there are plans to build a repository for radio active waste underneath the Sellafield reprocessing plant. Reports are becoming available indicating, particularly for geological reasons, that site may not be suitable. A report by the nuclear industry's waste disposal company, know as UK Nirex, confirmed that this is the case and that the proposed dump is not suitable for the designated site and this UK company has proposed that an alternative site at Dounreay in Scotland would be more appropriate. However, I suggest that all sites for nuclear waste dumps are unsuitable. The issue is not the site at Sellafield, but rather the nuclear industry itself and whether we can continue to allow the nuclear reprocessing industry to grow and expand on our doorstep. I suggest the nuclear industry is unacceptable as far as this country is concerned.

The report I referred to suggests that there is a problem with the direction and speed at which underground water flows through the area involved, and there is a suggestion that radioactive water could rise vertically through a layer of rock which has already been tapped for drinking water. That is a startling revelation. It also suggested that any leakage would take the shortest route to the surface and the timespan mentioned in this regard could be as little as 1,000 years. Therefore I suggest that we do not have all the facts to allow this repository dump to go ahead and the Irish people would have a strong interest in ensuring that the dump would not be allowed to proceed. It would seem that the Government have an obligation to study all aspects of this report and to decide the approach they should take in relation to the proposed repository plan. It is suggested that we should consider its long term effects on the environment. We need consider the possible environmental effect over the next 10,000 years if this proposed repository goes ahead.

I suggest that underground repositories are unsafe given that we do not know or cannot forecast what is going to happen in the long term. Therefore, if we do not know all the facts and all the different aspects, we should not allow it to proceed.

More recently we have had reports about radioactive seaweed found on the beaches at Sellafield in Cumbria. This is a very serious matter. Many Irish people, including myself, are concerned about this and also the manner in which British Nuclear Fuels have dealt with the matter. I do not think they have dealt with it satisfactorily. British Nuclear Fuels have now said that the seaweed is not dangerous and only low levels of radioactivity were involved. I do not know whether we can believe that. I do not think we have enough information on the matter. Indeed, there was one report which suggested that British Nuclear Fuels were mystified about it. That mystification should be a source of great alarm for people in this country and for people in Cumbria and Britain in general. To suggest that they do not know how this came about is unacceptable.

I understand the weed was first discovered in March this year and much concern and unease have been expressed that this incident was only made public through an apparent leak to the newspapers two months after it was first discovered. Again, that is cause for alarm. This is extremely serious. I suggest that the propaganda issued by British Nuclear Fuels is simply that — propaganda. They promised the people of this country and people in general a much more open policy. They promised to give the public all the facts in relation to any incidents which may take place there. Here was the first test to show the public they were indeed cleaning up their act but unfortunately it took a leak to the media to bring this incident to the attention of the public. We are assured there is no possible danger to the public from this radioactive seaweed and yet they do not know how this happened. They suggest that there are no incidents at Sellafield which would explain it and that is frightening. They are baffled about this discovery and, therefore, we have cause to be concerned and to question their authority to comment on this matter in our interest, and to proclaim various views in relation to the Sellafield plant when they do not seem to know what exactly is happening there.

It has been stated that British Nuclear Fuels appear to be complacent about this issue and other issues which I mentioned earlier. That is unacceptable. There are reports in the papers today that the amount of this weed is increasing at an alarming rate: therefore, we do not know the full consquences. We do not know the full consequences of the whole Sellafied nuclear reactor or what is likely to happen to our environment because of the operation of this nuclear industry. The Government have a duty to clarify all these matters.

I congratulate the Government on establishing the Radiological Protection Institute and I hope they have made comments in relation to this latest incident. I know the Minister has been asked from time to time to consider legal action and he has suggested there is not sufficient evidence in this regard. I would ask the Minister to keep the option of legal action open, to consistently examine all the facts and if the opportunity arises serious consideration should be given to taking legal action against the operation of the Sellafield nuclear plant.

Minister for Energy (Mr. Molloy)

Senator Haughey's motion asks me to outline the Government policy in relation to the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant following the UK Nirex report suggesting that the site of the proposed repository may not be suitable following the recent discovery of radioactive seaweed on the beaches at Sellafield. As Minister for Energy I have continuously expressed the Government's concern about the Sellafield plant which continues to discharge radioactive waste into the Irish Sea, although the quantities of such waste have reduced drastically in recent years. The Government's view is that the only way to resolve concerns about Sellafield is to close the plant and we have repeatedly conveyed this view to the United Kingdom Government. The Government are also concerned about the very large accumulation of highly radioactive waste at Sellafield, together with the transport of radioactive material to and from the plant because this exposes our country to significant risks.

I have also personally conveyed our serious concerns about Sellafield to the former United Kingdom Secretary of State for Energy, John Wakeham and to the former Secretary of State for the Environment, Mr. Heseltine, who is now responsible for Industry and Trade which portfolio includes energy matters in the UK. Within the European Community. Irish uneasiness about nuclear safety and our insistence on new control measures, notably at EC level, have been raised at every opportunity. I raised the matter again at the EC Energy Council meeting on the 29 October 1991 when I said that my concerns were exacerbated by the absence of any move in the direction of independent verification and inspection of nuclear installations, which I and my predecessors have been advocating under Article 35 of the EURATOM Treaty.

The Government believe that the European Community, in particular, have a vital role to play in the problems of the safety and transboundary effects of United Kingdom nuclear installations. Ireland has, on numerous occasions, proposed the establishment of a Community inspection force which would ensure that uniformly high standards are applied at nuclear installations throughout the Community and that any installations found to be unsafe are closed. In addition, I have put our view on two separate occasions to the European Parliament. Other Ministers and officials of my Department have pressed home this message on every possible occasion.

The Government have also been and continue to be committed to legal action against Sellafield if a sufficient case for it can be shown to exist but they cannot initiate such action without a firm legal case based on sufficient evidence. Any such legal action would have to be based on scientific evidence as to the injurious effects of operations at the Sellafield plant on Ireland. To find convincing evidence to establish a direct cause and effect link between the operation of the Sellafield plant and damage or injuries to people in Ireland may be very difficult. The options for legal action have been examined but they have all been confronted by the same obstacle, the lack of sufficient evidence.

I am aware of recent articles in the press regarding reports that Sellafield may not be a suitable location for an underground repository. The basis for such claims apparently arises from two reports entitled "UK Nirex Limited. The Geology and Hydrogeology of Sellafield; March 1992 Interpretation; Volumes I and 2" and "UK Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee's Response to UK Nirex Limited Revised Design for Sellafield Repository". On hearing these claims I immediately sought copies of the documents. I now have both documents and I have asked the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland and the Geological Survey Office to examine them as a matter of urgency and advise me further on their technical and geological contents.

It would be premature to make any definitive statement on the recent media claims until both reports, which are voluminous and very technical, have been thoroughly examined by the experts in both institutions. My Department will continue to monitor all further developments in relation to the site investigation, planning and design of any such proposed repository.

I note with concern the reported discovery on the sea shore at Sellafield of vegetation with increased radioactive contamination. The occurrence of yet another incident of unexpected and, as yet, unexplained contamination of the Cumbrian coastline of the Irish Sea from operations in Sellafield has to be a cause for concern in this country. The Radiological Protection Institute undertake, as many of you will be aware, an ongoing monitoring programme of the Irish coastline, including the sampling and analysis of seaweeds. Recent analyses did not show any abnormal levels of contamination indicating that no abnormal contamination of sea water on our side of the Irish Sea has occurred.

The Radiological Protection Institute have told me that the present evidence indicates that there is no radiological hazard to this country from the items discovered on the beaches near Sellafield.