THE BRITISH authorities have decided to exclude the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant in Cumbria from an imminent round of stress tests on European nuclear installations.
The move comes despite indications to Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan from British energy secretary Chris Huhne that the stress tests would include Sellafield.
Voluntary tests on Europe’s 143 nuclear reactors follow the Fukushima nuclear emergency in Japan, which raised questions as to whether previous safety audits were thorough enough.
The tests, which begin next month, will examine the resilience of nuclear installations to earthquakes, tsunamis, air crashes and human error. A group will also be set up to deal with the risk of any terrorist attack on a nuclear plant.
“The answer is no,” said a British government spokeswoman in Brussels when asked whether Sellafield would be examined.
She explained the decision by saying the plant is now engaged in nuclear fuel reprocessing and no longer generates power. “It’s just for existing generation sites,” she said of the tests.
Asked whether the inclusion of Sellafield might have increased confidence, she said the decision was “purely based on the fact that it’s not a generation site and that was the criteria for the tests”.
In Dublin, however, a spokeswoman for Mr Hogan said he expected Sellafield to be examined. “It’s the department’s understanding and expectation that the stress test will apply to Sellafield,” she said. “The UK secretary of state Chris Huhne confirmed as much to Minister Hogan at a bilateral meeting in March.”
She declined to say what stance Dublin would adopt in relation to the British decision. “I’m not going to comment on that until we hear directly from the UK.” The British spokeswoman did not return a call last night to respond to Dublin’s assertions about Mr Huhne’s meeting with Mr Hogan.
The Fukushima emergency has intensified the political sensitivity in Europe of nuclear issues. It prompted Germany to order the temporary closure of seven of its 17 nuclear plants.
After two months of dispute between EU ministers over the stress tests, EU energy commission Günther Oettinger said yesterday that the authorities had agreed on a “very comprehensive” test criteria.
“I’m very satisfied with progress and I feel that this nuclear stress test has met the requirements for high objectivity and thorough in-depth examination,” he told reporters.
Mr Huhne was interviewed by British police on Tuesday over allegations that he had dishonestly avoided a driving ban. He denies allegations made by his estranged wife that he pressurised another person to take the blame for a speeding offence in 2003.
