The British Government must produce a decommissioning programme for the Sellafield nuclear plant which will result in its swift closure, it was urged today.
The nationalist SDLP's General Election candidate in South Down Eddie McGrady, who has campaigned for many years against the Cumbrian plant, welcomed moves to cut discharges of the radionuclide Technetium 99 by 90 percent from the plant.
However, he said more needed to be done, with an end to reprocessing and Mox production.
"The current situation is hardly reassuring," Mr McGrady said.
"EU Commission inspectors have been denied full access to the Sellafield site and could not find out how much nuclear material is at the Sellafield site, how much plutonium waste lies in the open-air storage facility at Sellafield and when the British authorities will meet EU requirements for safety controls.
"What is immediately required at Sellafield is a start to the run-down of all the processes that take place at the plant including the reprocessing of the world's radioactive waste.
"That means an end to the transportation of the world's radioactive waste by land, sea and air to Cumbria and a complete cessation of the continuous discharges of radioactive and toxic waste into the Irish Sea.
"Above all, we want to see a proper and effective decommissioning plan which addresses the safe demolition of the plant and the proper management and disposal of the radioactive waste.
"That is what the people of Ireland, North and South want to see."
PA