Reassurances from Sellafield that a major leak of radioactive material within the nuclear reprocessing facility poses no threat to public health or to the environment provide cold comfort for Irish people.
The very fact that the leak occurred and went undetected for an unspecified period is a major cause for concern.
The Thorp facility at Sellafield reprocesses spent nuclear fuel to recover its plutonium and uranium. It is likely to be closed for a prolonged period as a result of the recent accident. An estimated 83 cubic metres of radioactive liquid - enough to fill two typical family living rooms to the ceiling - escaped from a broken pipe into a concrete chamber before it was detected on April 18th.
Three days later, the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland (RPII) was notified of the accident, in accordance with recently agreed procedures between the Irish and British governments. But it is unclear when the leak began. Minister for the Environment Dick Roche said in a statement last Friday that the incident had been reclassified as category three - described as serious - on the seven-point International Nuclear Event Scale.
Because the chamber containing the radioactive material is now heavily contaminated, it is unsafe for workers to enter. And any clean-up operation may have to be conducted through the use of robots or other remote controlled machines. The structure has concrete walls several feet thick and is regarded as being capable of containing the plutonium and nitric acid that escaped.
The chief executive of the RPII, Ann McGarry, advised a Dáil committee last week of her concerns about the plant. The dominant focus of the institute's concern, she said, was the storage of liquid radioactive wastes in highly active storage tanks. An accident involving these tanks could contaminate the food chain in Ireland and have serious economic consequences, she said.
Four years ago, the Government joined five Nordic states in campaigning against the opening of the Thorp facility. The then attorney general, Michael McDowell argued against it at a UN Law of the Sea tribunal. And the Taoiseach warned Tony Blair of the heightened threat to the facility from international terrorists. Representations were rebuffed. Last month, ownership of Sellafield passed from British Nuclear Fuels to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). And profits from Thorp were earmarked for cleaning up other nuclear facilities. However, a media report in Britain at the weekend suggested the NDA wants Thorp to remain closed for good. A final decision rests with the British government.
From an Irish perspective, Sellafield must close.