Sellafield Mox Fuel Plant Produces Almost Nothing
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MARCH 27, 2008 | No. 670 SELLAFIELD MOX FUEL PLANT PRODUCES ALMOST NOTHING A nuclear plant built at a cost of GBP 473 million to provide atomic fuel to be used in foreign power stations has produced almost nothing since it was opened six years ago, the government has SELLAFIELD MOX FUEL PLANT admitted. The mixed oxide (Mox) facility at Sellafield in Cumbria - PRODUCES ALMOST NOTHING 1 which was opposed by green groups as uneconomic - was originally 22 YEARS ON FROM CHORNOBYL predicted to have an annual throughput of 120 tons of fuel. In 2004, DISASTER 2 BNFL even had to turn to its biggest competitor, the French group Cogema, for help to try to get the plant operating properly. To no ONLY FOUR VESSELS PER YEAR 4 avail, as it turns out. DESPITE CRACK WARNING NRC (670.5859) WISE Amsterdam - In late give the green light to a new generation OK'S EIGHT UNINSPECTED February, the energy minister, Malcolm of atomic reactors. REACTORS TO OPERATE UNTIL Wicks, confessed in response to a NEXT REFUELING 5 parliamentary question that the new British Nuclear Group (BNG), which Sellafield Mox Plant (SMP), built amid operates the Sellafield site, said a range IN BRIEF 5 great controversy at a cost of £473m of improvements were being made to the OLKILUOTO 3 8 (606.5 million euro, US$950 million), had facility but it admitted that the 2007-08 comprehensively failed to work. period had again seen production Originally designed to produce 120 tons disrupted by various problems. BNG has a year of Mox nuclear fuel - made of been forced to meet the needs of Swiss plutonium and uranium separated from and other contracted customers for Mox nuclear waste by reprocessing - it had in fuel through buying alternative supplies fact managed only 5.3 tons in five years from France and Belgium. of operation (that is 0.8 per cent of planned production). The SMP was designed to make new fuel from the recycled uranium and The SMP had managed only 2.6 tons in plutonium recovered from used nuclear any one 12-month period between 2002 fuel, which had been reprocessed by the and 2006-07. In the four years before nearby thermal oxide reprocessing plant 2002, the plant had produced annual (Thorp) at Sellafield. A Mox figures respectively of 2.3 tons, 0.3 tons, demonstration complex was opened in 0 tons and 0 tons. Wicks described the 1998 but was hit by a scandal involving SMP as being based on "largely quality control and the falsification of unproven technology" and pointed out documents, which led to the resignation that its estimated annual output had of John Taylor, chief executive of BNFL. been reduced by 2001 to 72 tons. It was originally predicted to have an annual Attempts to open the main SMP facility throughput of 120 tons of fuel. led to high court challenges by Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, The technical difficulties at the facility which argued that the government's and the failure to get anywhere close to decision to allow BNG's parent group, its financial targets will add to concerns BNFL, to proceed with opening the about the economics of nuclear power, facility was unlawful under European law. following the government's decision to The Irish government also took unsuccessful legal action to stop the armed escort to France. The cargo of communities at significant and SMP opening over concerns about plutonium, in the form of weapons- unnecessary risk - simply because of radioactive effluent from the plant useable dioxide powder - a highly Sellafield's inability to make SMP work. polluting the Irish Sea. Jean McSorley, prized terrorist material - will be This could be the first of many a nuclear campaigner at Greenpeace, secretly transported from Sellafield in plutonium-swap shipments as a said the Mox plant was - along with French vehicles to local docks and onto number of SMP orders have had to be Thorp (which is still shut after a leak in the NDA's ship Atlantic Osprey bound sub-contracted to France and Belgium. 2005) - "another great failure of British for Cherbourg. nuclear engineering" and pointed to the Sources: The Guardian, 3 March 2008; dangers of accepting the industry's The cargo will replace the plutonium The Independent, 9 March 2008; economic models and promises. She used in orders for MOX fuel that had to CORE, Press release, 8 March 2008 pointed out that Thorp had been shut be produced in European facilities for the past three years because of an when Sellafield was forced to sub- Contact: CORE (Cumbrians Opposed accident and continual attempts to contract the orders from the SMP to a Radioactive Environment), 98 reopen it had been thwarted by further because of the plant's failure to Church Street, Barrow In Furness, problems. produce the goods on time. According Cumbria, LA14 2HT, UK. to Martin Forwood (CORE) "This Tel: +44 (0)1229 833851 As a result of the SMP failure, Sellafield clandestine shipment of highly toxic Email: [email protected] is planning to ship plutonium under plutonium puts European waters and Web: http://www.corecumbria.co.uk 22 YEARS ON FROM CHORNOBYL DISASTER Limited Access to Environmental Information Prevails in Ukraine Ukraine, the site of the worst environmental disaster in recent history, is still failing to protect the right of its citizens to access environmental information. Serious environmental problems remain in Ukraine, including unsafe storage of obsolete pesticides, military chemicals and radioactive waste. Inadequate treatment of industrial waste causes serious atmospheric and water pollution. According to research, 48% of Ukrainians find the condition of their environment unsatisfactory. Speaking about the dumping of toxic waste in the center of a village a local resident told researchers: 'It was the same information policy as during Chornobyl: actually, none'. (670.5860) Article 19 - This is revealed forms of pollution. Donetsk is the most levels as well as misinformed and in a new report, "For Internal Use Only: Is industrialized region of Ukraine and has therefore counterproductive coping Post-Chornobyl Ukraine Ready for Access chemical and metallurgic factories. Lviv strategies. Affected people also have a to Environmental Information?", launched also has chemical and metallurgic psychological need to know who was in February by 'Article 19' in Kyiv, factories and has been the recipient of responsible for an accident and that Ukraine, and based on several months toxic waste from Hungary. effective measures have been taken to research in Ukraine. 'Article 19' is a avoid similar incidents in the future. human rights organization with a The Chornobyl disaster demonstrated specific mandate and focus on the dramatically the need for information to Lack of information disempowers. It defense and promotion of freedom of protect people's health and the means that people cannot take expression and freedom of information environment. People were deprived of informed decisions or scrutinize the worldwide. basic information that would have authorities' actions, and it prevents allowed them to minimize the people from defending their rights. The study shows how the lack of catastrophe's effects. Information on effective access to information has the overall impact of the accident is still In Ukraine there is a clear legal serious consequences for the sketchy. Recent smaller-scale public requirement for the dissemination of people of Ukraine, many of whose emergencies have revealed once again environmental information. There are health and well-being are affected by a tendency by the authorities to release international guarantees, particularly environmental damage. The lack of inadequate information and conflicting through the State's ratification of the information also has serious messages, at times with a view to Aarhus Convention. Domestic law also consequences for the protection of the downplaying the risks involved. This is provides general constitutional environment itself, thereby undermining often justified as a measure to contain guarantees on freedom of information. sustainable development. panic. The Law on Information contains a The three oblasts which are the number of relevant provisions. focus of this report are all facing However, the interviews in this report Moreover, environmental legislation pressing environmental concerns. Kyiv have shown that when people are (primarily the Law on Environmental is at the edge of the Chornobyl 30 km deprived of information, fear and Protection and the Environmental zone, as well as being plagued by other uncertainty grow, leading to high stress Impact Assessment Law) contains 2 NUCLEAR MONITOR 670 specific provisions on the requirement alerting the public about environmental means of disseminating information in to disseminate environmental hazards, and the media have increased Ukraine, and public bodies now have information, as well as a prohibition on coverage of environmental issues. websites. The Internet is an important keeping secret information that has an However, in most cases, such information tool, and it often accessible impact on people's health. However, information is not sufficiently detailed to to young people, particularly students, the existing legal guarantees do not enable the public to make informed who, according to Eco-Pravo Kyiv, specify in sufficient detail how the right choices in relation to their health and make up the social group that is most to information can be exercised and environment. active in the area of environmental what measures public bodies must take protection. However, two related to ensure access to information. Often, the media limits itself to carrying problems remain. Firstly, overall only a Different laws also contain information on environmental small section of the population has contradictory provisions. This points to catastrophes when these occur, rather access to the Internet. Secondly, the the need for a number of legal reforms. than devoting time and effort to information on public websites is often investigating complex environmental overly general.