Latest news with #GeoffreyClifton-Brown
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
UK's most hazardous building still leaking radioactive water, MPs warn
Britain's most hazardous building could leak radioactive water until the 2050s as clean-up operations at Sellafield struggle to progress quickly enough, MPs have warned. In a report published on Wednesday, the Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) criticised the speed of decommissioning work at the former nuclear power plant, citing examples of 'failure, cost overruns and continuing safety concerns'. Although the committee noted there were 'signs of improvement', PAC chairman Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown said Sellafield continued to present 'intolerable risks'. He said: 'As with the fight against climate change, the sheer scale of the hundred-year timeframe of the decommissioning project makes it hard to grasp the immediacy of safety hazards and cost overruns that delays can have. 'Every day at Sellafield is a race against time to complete works before buildings reach the end of their life. Our report contains too many signs that this is a race that Sellafield risks losing.' The PAC said those risks were underlined by the Magnox Swarf Storage Silo (MSSS), which the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) described to the committee as 'the most hazardous building in the UK'. The MSSS has been leaking radioactive water into the ground since 2018, releasing enough water to fill an Olympic swimming pool every three years, and is likely to continue leaking until the oldest section of the building has been emptied in the 2050s, around a decade later than previously expected. Pointing to the fact that Sellafield Ltd had missed most of its annual targets for retrieving waste from buildings, including the MSSS, the committee warned: 'The consequence of this underperformance is that the buildings are likely to remain extremely hazardous for longer.' The NDA has acknowledged that the leak is its 'single biggest environmental issue', and a spokeswoman said managing it and retrieving waste from the MSSS was 'our highest priority'. She added: 'As the report says, the leak in the Magnox Swarf Storage Silo is contained and does not pose a risk to the public. Regulators accept that the current plan to tackle the leak is the most effective one.' Sir Geoffrey said: 'It is of vital importance that the Government grasp the daily urgency of the work taking place at Sellafield, and shed any sense of a far-off date of completion for which no-one currently living is responsible. 'Sellafield's risks and challenges are those of the present day. 'There are some early indications of some improvement in Sellafield's delivery, which our report notes. Government must do far more to hold all involved immediately accountable to ensure these do not represent a false dawn, and to better safeguard both the public purse and the public itself.' Sellafield ceased generating electricity in 2003 and, in addition to work cleaning up the site, now processes and stores nuclear waste from power plants around the UK. In the longer term, the Government plans to create an underground geological disposal facility (GDF) to store nuclear waste for the thousands of years it will take to become safe. But the committee said delays in creating the GDF, which is now not expected to be done until the late 2050s, meant more costs for Sellafield as it required more storage facilities. NDA chief executive David Peattie said he welcomed the PAC's scrutiny and would consider how best to address its recommendations. He said: 'We take the findings seriously and the safety of the site and the wellbeing of our people will always be our highest priorities. 'As the committee has noted, Sellafield is the most complex and challenging nuclear site in the UK. We are pleased they recognise improvements in delivering major projects and that we are safely retrieving waste from all four highest hazard facilities. 'With the support of our employees, their representatives, community and stakeholders, we remain committed to driving forward improved performance and continuing to deliver our nationally important mission safely, securely and sustainably.' As well as criticising delays in clean-up operations and calling for an overhaul of how the site functions, the PAC expressed concern that there was a 'sub-optimal culture' at Sellafield. The committee pointed to the 16 non-disclosure agreements signed by Sellafield Ltd in the last 16 years, and called on the NDA to publish information about the prevalence and perception of bullying in its annual report. The NDA spokeswoman said: 'We're committed to an open and respectful culture and we've taken decisive action to enable this, including strengthening our whistleblowing policy. 'Evidence shows the improvements are working and the report acknowledges the improvement in staff survey results over recent years, but we are never complacent and will continue to strive to ensure the NDA group is a place where everyone feels respected and empowered to raise issues, knowing that they will be acted upon appropriately. 'As the report notes, it is one of the conditions of Sellafield's nuclear site licence to have a robust process for reporting safety issues and the independent nuclear regulator has given the site a green rating of compliance.' A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: 'We expect the highest standards of safety and security as former nuclear sites are dismantled, and the regulator is clear that public safety is not compromised at Sellafield. 'We continue to support the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority in its oversight of Sellafield, while driving value for money. 'This is underpinned by monthly performance reviews and increased responsibility for overseeing major project performance, enabling more direct scrutiny and intervention. 'We have zero tolerance of bullying, harassment and offensive behaviour in the workplace – we expect Sellafield and the NDA to operate on this basis, investigate allegations and take robust action when needed.'
The Sun
5 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
UK nuclear site could leak until 2050s, MPs warn
LONDON: Britain's most hazardous building threatens to leak radioactive water until the 2050s unless the clean-up of a former nuclear power plant is quickened, UK lawmakers warned on Wednesday. The waste has been leaking into the ground from a storage silo at the Sellafield facility in Cumbria, in northwest England, since 2018 -- enough to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool every three years. Sellafield, which began operations in the 1940s, generated nuclear power between 1956 and 2003. In a report published Wednesday, a group of British MPs criticised the pace of the decommissioning work, citing examples of 'failure, cost overruns and continuing safety concerns'. It said the risks were highlighted by the Magnox Swarf Storage Silo (MSSS), described by Sellafield owner the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) as 'the most hazardous building in the UK'. The report by the Public Accounts Committee found that most of the annual targets for retrieving waste from buildings at the site, including the MSSS, had been 'missed'. It said the storage silo is likely to continue leaking until the oldest section of the building has been emptied in the late 2050s, instead of 2040 as previously expected. 'Every day at Sellafield is a race against time to complete works before buildings reach the end of their life,' said the committee's chair, Geoffrey Clifton-Brown. 'Our report contains too many signs that this is a race that Sellafield risks losing,' he added, saying the site presented 'intolerable risks'. The radioactive leak is contained and does not pose a risk to the public, the report noted. A spokeswoman for the NDA said fixing it was the group's 'highest priority'. Britain's National Audit Office forecast last October that the cost of decommissioning and cleaning up the entire Sellafield site over the next century had soared to £136 billion ($177 billion). This was up almost 19 percent on the previous official estimate made in 2019. It noted that 'full site remediation' was not expected until 2125.
Leader Live
5 days ago
- Business
- Leader Live
Government would struggle to cope with severe animal disease outbreak
Animal diseases such as bird flu, bluetongue and African swine fever can pose serious threats to England's farming sector, food security, human health and wildlife, and costs associated with an outbreak can spiral into the billions of pounds, a report from the National Audit Office (NAO) has said. The 2001 outbreak of foot and mouth cost an estimated £13.8 billion in today's prices, with farming businesses devastated, thousands of animals slaughtered and the countryside shut to recreation and tourism. And 7.2 million birds have been culled in avian flu outbreaks since 2020, which have also devasted wild seabird colonies across the UK. But while the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has worked hard to tackle recent outbreaks, the NAO said it is likely the public bodies would struggle with a more severe outbreak or concurrent serious outbreaks. A report from the NAO warned that long-term resilience to disease in livestock was being undermined by officials having to focus on increasingly frequent outbreaks – and there was no long-term strategy for improving the situation. There are significant gaps in contingency plans for outbreaks, and plans for specific diseases have not been updated with the latest findings, with its strategy for coping with foot and mouth disease not updated since 2011. Just 5% of live animal imports are undergoing physical checks, all taking place at the final customer destination, against a target of 100% checks at border control, raising the risk of 'exotic' diseases arriving from abroad. A fifth of vet roles are vacant at the APHA, and there is a 'very high' risk of site failure at the Government's key animal science lab at Weybridge, the report said. The report said that while a £2.8 billion redevelopment programme at Weybridge was now on track, the main new laboratory facilities will not be delivered for another 10 years. The report found Defra thought there was a 'very high' risk of an outbreak to which it would be unable to respond effectively, but it lacks a long-term strategy and action plan for improving resilience to animal disease, and many of its activities are reactive rather than part of a coherent plan. A comprehensive livestock movement tracing system – crucial once infection is detected – is lacking, with the costs of an upgraded scheme now estimated at £563 million amid concerns over delivering it in the face of rising costs and funding constraints, while there are also issues with vaccine supplies. Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said: 'Defra has assessed that the risk of an outbreak to which it would be unable to respond effectively is above the level it considers tolerable, but it has not determined a way to reduce this risk. 'A long-term strategy and action plan are urgently needed, to protect national economic resilience as well as food security, human health and rural communities.' Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, chairman of the parliamentary Committee of Public Accounts, said: 'Despite some good work to identify new threats, Government's preparations for a future major outbreak are being hampered by a lack of capacity, skills and long-term strategy. 'Government's failure to carry out checks on animal imports is also threatening biosecurity at the border. 'Resilience to a severe outbreak has not been tested in recent years, but the threat remains ever increasing as our livestock become more susceptible to disease. 'Without changes to the current operating system, there is a very real risk that Government would not be able to respond effectively.' Biosecurity Minister Baroness Hayman said: 'This Government's commitment to maintaining the country's biosecurity in the face of the mounting risks of disease is unwavering – we will do whatever it takes to protect our farmers and economy. 'We took immediate action to ban personal imports of meat and dairy from Europe after a wave of foot and mouth cases on the continent and, after years of underinvestment, we are investing £200 million into a new National Biosecurity Centre.'
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
MPs release report saying Sellafield continues to present 'intolerable risks'
BRITAIN'S most hazardous building could leak radioactive water until the 2050s as clean-up operations at Sellafield struggle to progress quickly enough, MPs have warned. In a report published on Wednesday, the Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) criticised the speed of decommissioning work at the former nuclear power plant, citing examples of 'failure, cost overruns and continuing safety concerns'. Although the committee noted there were 'signs of improvement', PAC chairman Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown said Sellafield continued to present 'intolerable risks'. He said: 'As with the fight against climate change, the sheer scale of the hundred-year timeframe of the decommissioning project makes it hard to grasp the immediacy of safety hazards and cost overruns that delays can have. 'Every day at Sellafield is a race against time to complete works before buildings reach the end of their life. Our report contains too many signs that this is a race that Sellafield risks losing.' The PAC said those risks were underlined by the Magnox Swarf Storage Silo (MSSS), which the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) described to the committee as 'the most hazardous building in the UK'. The MSSS has been leaking radioactive water into the ground since 2018, releasing enough water to fill an Olympic swimming pool every three years, and is likely to continue leaking until the oldest section of the building has been emptied in the 2050s, around a decade later than previously expected. Pointing to the fact that Sellafield Ltd had missed most of its annual targets for retrieving waste from buildings, including the MSSS, the committee warned: 'The consequence of this underperformance is that the buildings are likely to remain extremely hazardous for longer.' The NDA has acknowledged that the leak is its 'single biggest environmental issue', and a spokeswoman said managing it and retrieving waste from the MSSS was 'our highest priority'. She added: 'As the report says, the leak in the Magnox Swarf Storage Silo is contained and does not pose a risk to the public. Regulators accept that the current plan to tackle the leak is the most effective one.' Sir Geoffrey said: 'It is of vital importance that the Government grasp the daily urgency of the work taking place at Sellafield, and shed any sense of a far-off date of completion for which no-one currently living is responsible. 'Sellafield's risks and challenges are those of the present day. 'There are some early indications of some improvement in Sellafield's delivery, which our report notes. Government must do far more to hold all involved immediately accountable to ensure these do not represent a false dawn, and to better safeguard both the public purse and the public itself.' Sellafield ceased generating electricity in 2003 and, in addition to work cleaning up the site, now processes and stores nuclear waste from power plants around the UK. In the longer term, the Government plans to create an underground geological disposal facility (GDF) to store nuclear waste for the thousands of years it will take to become safe. But the committee said delays in creating the GDF, which is now not expected to be done until the late 2050s, meant more costs for Sellafield as it required more storage facilities. NDA chief executive David Peattie said he welcomed the PAC's scrutiny and would consider how best to address its recommendations. He said: 'We take the findings seriously and the safety of the site and the wellbeing of our people will always be our highest priorities. 'As the committee has noted, Sellafield is the most complex and challenging nuclear site in the UK. We are pleased they recognise improvements in delivering major projects and that we are safely retrieving waste from all four highest hazard facilities. 'With the support of our employees, their representatives, community and stakeholders, we remain committed to driving forward improved performance and continuing to deliver our nationally important mission safely, securely and sustainably.' As well as criticising delays in clean-up operations and calling for an overhaul of how the site functions, the PAC expressed concern that there was a 'sub-optimal culture' at Sellafield. The committee pointed to the 16 non-disclosure agreements signed by Sellafield Ltd in the last 16 years, and called on the NDA to publish information about the prevalence and perception of bullying in its annual report. The NDA spokeswoman said: 'We're committed to an open and respectful culture and we've taken decisive action to enable this, including strengthening our whistleblowing policy. 'Evidence shows the improvements are working and the report acknowledges the improvement in staff survey results over recent years, but we are never complacent and will continue to strive to ensure the NDA group is a place where everyone feels respected and empowered to raise issues, knowing that they will be acted upon appropriately. 'As the report notes, it is one of the conditions of Sellafield's nuclear site licence to have a robust process for reporting safety issues and the independent nuclear regulator has given the site a green rating of compliance.'
South Wales Guardian
5 days ago
- Business
- South Wales Guardian
Government would struggle to cope with severe animal disease outbreak
Animal diseases such as bird flu, bluetongue and African swine fever can pose serious threats to England's farming sector, food security, human health and wildlife, and costs associated with an outbreak can spiral into the billions of pounds, a report from the National Audit Office (NAO) has said. The 2001 outbreak of foot and mouth cost an estimated £13.8 billion in today's prices, with farming businesses devastated, thousands of animals slaughtered and the countryside shut to recreation and tourism. And 7.2 million birds have been culled in avian flu outbreaks since 2020, which have also devasted wild seabird colonies across the UK. But while the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has worked hard to tackle recent outbreaks, the NAO said it is likely the public bodies would struggle with a more severe outbreak or concurrent serious outbreaks. A report from the NAO warned that long-term resilience to disease in livestock was being undermined by officials having to focus on increasingly frequent outbreaks – and there was no long-term strategy for improving the situation. There are significant gaps in contingency plans for outbreaks, and plans for specific diseases have not been updated with the latest findings, with its strategy for coping with foot and mouth disease not updated since 2011. Just 5% of live animal imports are undergoing physical checks, all taking place at the final customer destination, against a target of 100% checks at border control, raising the risk of 'exotic' diseases arriving from abroad. A fifth of vet roles are vacant at the APHA, and there is a 'very high' risk of site failure at the Government's key animal science lab at Weybridge, the report said. The report said that while a £2.8 billion redevelopment programme at Weybridge was now on track, the main new laboratory facilities will not be delivered for another 10 years. The report found Defra thought there was a 'very high' risk of an outbreak to which it would be unable to respond effectively, but it lacks a long-term strategy and action plan for improving resilience to animal disease, and many of its activities are reactive rather than part of a coherent plan. A comprehensive livestock movement tracing system – crucial once infection is detected – is lacking, with the costs of an upgraded scheme now estimated at £563 million amid concerns over delivering it in the face of rising costs and funding constraints, while there are also issues with vaccine supplies. Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said: 'Defra has assessed that the risk of an outbreak to which it would be unable to respond effectively is above the level it considers tolerable, but it has not determined a way to reduce this risk. 'A long-term strategy and action plan are urgently needed, to protect national economic resilience as well as food security, human health and rural communities.' Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, chairman of the parliamentary Committee of Public Accounts, said: 'Despite some good work to identify new threats, Government's preparations for a future major outbreak are being hampered by a lack of capacity, skills and long-term strategy. 'Government's failure to carry out checks on animal imports is also threatening biosecurity at the border. 'Resilience to a severe outbreak has not been tested in recent years, but the threat remains ever increasing as our livestock become more susceptible to disease. 'Without changes to the current operating system, there is a very real risk that Government would not be able to respond effectively.' Biosecurity Minister Baroness Hayman said: 'This Government's commitment to maintaining the country's biosecurity in the face of the mounting risks of disease is unwavering – we will do whatever it takes to protect our farmers and economy. 'We took immediate action to ban personal imports of meat and dairy from Europe after a wave of foot and mouth cases on the continent and, after years of underinvestment, we are investing £200 million into a new National Biosecurity Centre.'
