Tests show Sellafield danger, says TD
The discovery of traces of radioactive waste in supermarket salmon justifies Ireland’s legal bid to close down Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant, it was claimed tonight.
Deputy Eoin Ryan said British assurances that the Cumbrian site was safe “ring hollow“.
Mr Ryan said: “The fact that traces of waste have ended up on the shelves of stores on Britain’s high streets underlines the threat Sellafield represents to people on both sides of the Irish Sea.”
Tests conducted by Southampton University researchers found traces of radioactive waste in Scottish farmed salmon sold in supermakets.
They found very low levels of Technetium-99 (Tc-99) in fresh and smoked salmon bought from Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda, Safeway, Waitrose, and Marks & Spencer.
Environmental campaign group Greenpeace, which commissioned the study, says the contamination was caused by discharges from the Sellafield nuclear plant into the Irish Sea.
“This disclosure coupled with the failure of Britain to honour commitments to cut emissions from the plant show that assurances from Whitehall and BNFL regarding Sellafield ring very hollow,” Mr Ryan said.
The news came as the UK faced fierce criticism at a ministerial summit in Germany over its failure to tackle nuclear pollution in the north-east Atlantic Ocean.
Mr Ryan urged Minister for Health Micheál Martin to urgently raise the matter at the OSPAR marine pollution meeting.
He said the plant was the main source of artificial radioactivity in Dublin Bay and along the East Coast.
“I believe it is essential that no matter what the outcome of that action that we continue to pursue this issue relentlessly,” he added.
“There is no economic or environmental justification for the plant and we must continue driving home that point until it is accepted by Britain and it defuses this time bomb.”
Ireland is currently taking the United Kingdom to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea amid concerns that radioactive discharge from the Cumbrian site is polluting the Irish Sea.
The case is the second of two international legal actions undertaken by Ireland against the UK in relation to the plant.
Oral proceedings in the first case took place in October 2002 under the OSPAR Convention and a decision has not yet been delivered.
