A no-fly zone should be declared over Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant to help prevent the threat of terrorist attack, according to Fine Gael senator, Mr Fergus O’Dowd.
The call comes after British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) confirmed today that safety and security procedures at the plant in Cumbria on the west coast of England are being reviewed following the attacks on the US. A magazine report published today also suggested catastrophic consequences if the plant were struck by a plane.
"The British government must clarify exactly what measures it is taking to secure the plant in light of the current instability," Mr O’Dowd said.
"Selllafield is already a threat to the health and safety of Irish people on this side of the water through its nuclear reprocessing operation. Now we have the threat of terrorist attacks," the Fine Gael senator continued.
Mr O’Dowd is based in Co Louth where locals believe their proximity to Sellafield has caused unusually high incidents of cancers and birth defects.
BNFL today criticised a magazine article that warned of a nuclear disaster worse than Chernobyl should a hi-jacked jet crash on the site as "grossly irresponsible".
The report in New Scientistsaid the impact would be likely to break open tanks containing large amounts of high-level radioactive waste.
Large parts of Britain would be contaminated and some areas would become inhabitable, it was claimed. "In years to come, the death toll might be terrible," the magazine said.
Experts have confirmed that in the event of an explosion at the plant, Ireland would be susceptible to mass contamination if the prevailing wind blew westward from Britain.
"At a heightened time of national security such as the present, the New Scientist article is a grossly irresponsible piece of writing. It is scaremongering at its worst based on such sensational scenarios that it borders on science fiction.
"The views are those of well-known anti nuclear organisations and people who appear to be using the events of 11th September for their own ideological aims," BNFL said.
The company said it was co-operating with safety and security regulators who were reviewing the risks of all types of terrorist attack on Sellafield.
- Lithuania is to ask neighbouring Belarus to set up a no-fly zone near Ignalina nuclear power plant, according to the Baltic News Service (BNS). Amid concern over the possibility of a strike against what the country believes is a strategic location, Lithuanian Defence Minister Mr Linas Linkevicius said there were plans to extended Lithuania's existing no-fly zone to six miles around the plant and to an altitude of 98,000 feet.
The Soviet-designed plant with two reactors, similar to the doomed Chernobyl facility in the Ukraine, supplies more than 70 percent of Lithuania's electricity.
Ignalina, built in the 1980s, lies in the northeast of the country, two miles from the border with Belarus and 12 miles from the Latvian frontier. It is not known whether Lithuania was also approaching Latvia for a no-fly zone in the area.
Additional reporting PA &