Radioactive Leak Closes British Nuclear Reprocessing Plant

May 10, 2005

Part of the huge British nuclear site, Sellafield, has been closed after a leak of highly radioactive nuclear fuel was discovered.

About 20 tons of uranium and plutonium dissolved in concentrated nitric acid escaped through a cracked pipe into a huge stainless steel chamber which is too dangerous for humans to enter.

The leak, at the Thorp reprocessing plant, was discovered last month during an automated inspection. Repairing the pipes and recovering the spilled liquids is expected to take months and may need special robots, which will have to be built.

The British Nuclear Group, which runs the site, said last night that the leak posed no danger to the public, the environment or to Sellafield’s employees.

The closure of the $4 billion plan will have serious financial implications for the taxpayer. The Thorp plant generates about 2 million a day which is used to finance the cleanup of redundant nuclear facilities.

Most of the leaked material is uranium but it also contains about 440lb (200kg) of plutonium, enough to make 20 nuclear weapons. That must be recovered and accounted for to conform to international safeguards aimed at preventing nuclear materials falling into the wrong hands. Once the liquid has been siphoned off it will have to be stored until the plant can be repaired, but a method of doing this has yet to be devised.

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) took over ownership of Sellafield from British Nuclear Fuels on April 1st and has a $4.4 billon cleanup budget for its first year.

In 12 years Thorp has reprocessed 5,644 tons of fuel, missing its first ten-year target, of 7,000 tons. Last year it managed 590 tons, again missing a target, of 725 tons.

The Sellafield site is located 11 miles south of the coastal town of Whitehaven in West Cumbria.