The end would seem to be in sight for the Thermal Oxide Reprocessing plant (Thorp) at Sellafield. This newspaper and the Guardian reported yesterday that Thorp will close down its operations by 2010 while the company which operates it, BNFL Ltd., switches from producing nuclear fuel to becoming a nuclear waste clean-up and disposal business.
BNFL, in a statement yesterday, did not confirm the closure report. Instead it moved to reassure its remaining customer base that all existing reprocessing contracts will be honoured, and pointed out that its order book "extends to at least 2010". BNFL holds out the possibility that additional reprocessing contracts might be obtained for Thorp which could prolong its life beyond 2010 but the company notes that any decision on new contracts would be subject to a process of public consultation, not least with the Irish Government. Two months ago, the Government secured an order from the UN Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague that it must be consulted on any additional reprocessing contracts.
The Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, should not be satisfied just with consultation rights. What would satisfy him, the Irish people and the people of other affected nations such as Denmark and Norway would be the cessation of reprocessing as soon as possible and by 2010 at the very latest. Mr Cullen has contacted the British government seeking clarification on the exact plans for Thorp. He may be waiting for a while. The British government and BNFL have never regarded transparency and full disclosure as being necessary even in the management of an unreliable and hazardous process. The Government, quite rightly, has resorted to vigorous legal proceedings.
The closure of Thorp will not occur in 2010, or whenever, because the British government has finally accepted that the environmental damage caused by it can no longer be defended. Rather, it will occur because the cost of keeping the plant open is unacceptably high. Thorp is unviable already and operating at only 50 per cent of capacity. The price of uranium is now so low that few power stations will entertain the cost of having their used uranium treated and turned into a new fuel.
Nuclear reprocessing (and nuclear power plants) can be kept in operation, however, even when they cease to be commercially viable, especially when no alternative has been put in place. The United Kingdom is about a decade away from a severe energy shortage. At present, nuclear power provides 28 per cent of its electricity and there is every reason to believe that it will be relied on for an even greater contribution. No doubt, the need to cut down on greenhouse gases will be emphasised while at the same time the potential for non-polluting renewable energy sources will be largely ignored. The Government must continue in its efforts to close down the reprocessing plant and the rest of the four-square mile Sellafield complex, Europe's largest single nuclear storage facility.