The Minister for the Environment has welcomed EU findings that proper records have not been kept of nuclear material stored at a pond on the Sellafield complex.
Speaking on RTÉ's Prime Time last night, Mr Cullen said the EU Commission report confirmed the Government's concerns about the plant. He said the Government had a "consistent position" that the "veil of secrecy" hanging over Sellafield was "absolutely unacceptable".
The EU has ordered Britain to take steps to address failures by British Nuclear Fuels Ltd (BNFL) to keep proper records of nuclear material in the pond at the complex. The Commission has instructed Britain to submit, by May 1st, a "comprehensive plan" to ensure all material in the B30 pond is properly accounted for and that it is made accessible for verification by inspectors from the Euratom nuclear watchdog body.
BNFL is condemned by the Commission for "its continuous failure to produce and keep operating records in order to permit accounting for all nuclear material presently stored in pond B30 at Sellafield". It is not possible to accurately determine the location and exact quantity of the nuclear material at the installation, although BNFL claims the pond contains about 1.3 tonnes of plutonium, of which about 400 kg is corroded fuel in the form of sludge, according to the Commission.
The Labour Party's spokesman on nuclear safety, Mr Emmet Stagg, said the findings were "a major breakthrough" in the fight against Sellafield.