Latest news with #nuclearwaste
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Sellafield nuclear clean-up too slow and too costly, say MPs
MPs have warned about the speed and cost of cleaning up the Sellafield nuclear waste dump and raised concerns over a 'suboptimal' workplace culture at the site. Members of parliament's public accounts committee (PAC) urged the government and bosses at the sprawling collection of crumbling buildings in Cumbria to get a grasp on the 'intolerable risks' presented by its ageing infrastructure. In a detailed report into the site, the PAC said Sellafield was not moving quickly enough to tackle its biggest hazards; raised the alarm over its culture; and said the government was not ensuring value for money was being achieved from taxpayer funds. In 2023, the Guardian's Nuclear Leaks investigation revealed a string of safety concerns at the site – including escalating fears over a leak of radioactive liquid from a decaying building known as the Magnox swarf storage silo (MSSS) – as well as cybersecurity failings and allegations of a poor workplace culture. The PAC – which heard evidence in March from Sellafield and its oversight body, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) – found that the state-owned company had missed most of its annual targets to retrieve waste from several buildings, including the MSSS. 'As a result of Sellafield's underperformance [the MSSS] will likely remain extremely hazardous for longer,' the MPs said. The ultimate cost of cleaning up Sellafield, which contains waste from weapons programmes and atomic power generation, has been estimated at £136bn and could take more than 100 years. Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, the chair of the PAC, said: 'Unfortunately, our latest report is interleaved with a number of examples of failure, cost overruns, and continuing safety concerns. Given the tens of billions at stake, and the dangers on site to both the environment and human life, this is simply not good enough.' He added: '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.' MPs noted that one project, a now-paused replacement of an on-site lab, had resulted in '£127m wasted'. The cost of cleaning up Sellafield has caused tensions with the Treasury as the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, attempts to tighten public spending and spur growth. Sellafield, which is home to the world's largest store of plutonium, said in February that nearly £3bn in new funding was 'not enough'. Last year, Sellafield apologised and was fined £332,500 after it pleaded guilty to criminal charges over years of cybersecurity failings. The PAC noted that the timeline for a government project to create a long-term deep underground store for nuclear waste, including that held at Sellafield, had slipped from 2040 to the late 2050s. The government is considering sites in Cumbria and Lincolnshire, although Lincolnshire county council is expected to withdraw the latter from the process after vocal local opposition. The MPs said they had found 'indications of a suboptimal culture' at Sellafield, and noted that the NDA paid £377,200 in 2023-24 to settle employment-related claims. Alison McDermott, a former HR consultant who raised concerns over bullying and a 'toxic culture' at the site, said she felt 'vindicated' by the report. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion The PAC urged the government to set out how it would hold the NDA and Sellafield to account over its performance. It said Sellafield should report annually on progress against targets and explain how it is addressing the deteriorating condition of its assets. The NDA should publish data on the prevalence of bullying and harassment at nuclear sites, it said. Clifton-Brown said there were 'early indications of some improvements in Sellafield's delivery' but said the government needed to do 'far more' to ensure bosses safeguard the public and taxpayer funds. The NDA's chief executive, David Peattie, responding on behalf of Sellafield, said: 'We welcome the scrutiny of the committee and their report. We will now look in more detail at the recommendations and consider how best to address them. 'We take the findings seriously, and the safety of the site and the wellbeing of our people will always be our highest priorities.' 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.'
BBC News
10 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
Lincolnshire nuclear waste storage plan thrown out after vote
Lincolnshire will not be used to store nuclear waste after the county council voted to withdraw from the Waste Services (NWS), a government body, had earmarked an area near Louth, in East Lindsey, as a possible site for a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF).Speaking after the vote to end the talks, council leader Sean Matthews said communities had been subjected to years of "distress and uncertainty".NWS said it would take "immediate steps" to close down the consultation. NWS originally earmarked the former Theddlethorpe gas terminal site, near Mablethorpe, for a storage facility.A community partnership group was formed to open talks with local communities and government body later announced it had moved the proposed location to land between Gayton le Marsh and Great County Council today voted to follow East Lindsey District Council's decision to quit the partnership means that the project cannot progress in Lincolnshire because it does not have the required "community consent". 'Treated appallingly' Matthews, who represents Reform UK, said the authority's former Conservative administration should "hang its head in shame" for allowing the process to continue for four years."I would like to apologise to the communities who have been treated appallingly," he Conservative opposition leader Richard Davies said his party had "always listened to the community" and "led the charge to say no".Mike Crooks, from the Guardians of the East Coast pressure group, which was set up to oppose the project, said the wait for a decision had left people "unable to go on with their lives"."People haven't been able to sell their houses, to do whatever they want to do, to move on with their lives, so we are delighted they now can."In a statement, Simon Hughes, NWS siting and communities director, said it had granted £2m to support local community projects which had "left a lasting positive legacy". Analysis by Paul Murphy, BBC East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire Environment the sleepy coastal village of Theddlethorpe, the four year-long "conversation" about the disposal of radioactive material has been a source of anger, distress and least because it has taken four residents talk of their mental is largely a population of older people who retired to the coast for a bit of peace and quiet, not for a prolonged scrap with Britain's nuclear day one there was fierce and vocal opposition to the plans.I remember householders hanging plastic skeletons in their front gardens. Others just put up "for sale" strong opposition grew, despite the promise from NWS of millions of pounds of investment, skilled jobs and transformative road and rail are being asked about how and why it took the county and district councils so long to reject the proposals when public opposition was being so powerfully expressed.A similar nuclear disposal plan for East Yorkshire provoked similar furore and was kicked out by the local authority after just 28 days of public prospect of an underground nuclear disposal site in Lincolnshire appears to be dead and buried – unlike the UK's growing pile of toxic waste from nuclear power problem of finding a permanent and safe home for this deadly material is no longer Lincolnshire's issue, but it hasn't gone away. Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
BBC News
5 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Lincolnshire councillors move to end nuclear waste talks
Councillors have moved to end talks to bury nuclear waste close to the Lincolnshire Waste Services (NWS), a government body, had earmarked an area near Louth, in East Lindsey, as a possible site for a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF).At a meeting earlier, members of Lincolnshire County Council's overview and scrutiny management board recommended the authority's executive withdraws its involvement in the process.A final decision is due to be made at the next executive meeting on 3 June. Speaking at the meeting, Councillor Richard Davies, leader of the Conservative opposition proposed recommending the immediate withdrawal from the community partnership, following in the footsteps of East Lindsey District Council, which pulled out in said this would end ongoing uncertainty for residents."We've had five years and we still aren't informing people. We're still in this realm of probably, possibly, it may happen," he search had previously been focused on a former gas terminal in NWS later announced it had moved the proposed location of the facility to land between Gayton le Marsh and Great Conservative Councillor Lindsey Cawrey told the meeting: "Our communities have made their feelings clear and the proposal has changed significantly from what was previously suggested."David Fannin, chair of the community partnership, added: "If it had been possible to remove uncertainty, or to exercise a duty of care that mitigated the impact on the local community, I would have been more reassured about staying in the process."But, the council has spoken, local people have spoken up loudly and clearly, and we have to respect that." In a statement, Simon Hughes, siting and communities director at NWS, said: "The entire GDF siting process is based on community consent and there is an absolute requirement for any potential host community to have given its consent prior to any development being agreed."This conversation can carry on without commitment, but we will fully respect and understand any decision made by the council's executive on 3 June."The GDF would see nuclear waste being stored beneath up to 1,000m (3,300ft) of solid rock until its radioactivity had naturally areas had previously been shortlisted by NWS - Mid Copeland and South Copeland in Cumbria and Lincolnshire, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
CBC
7 days ago
- Business
- CBC
Aerodrome or airport? the Township of Ignace will consider both
Social Sharing The Township of Ignace is reviewing options for the future of its long-dormant aerodrome as the community prepares for its potential role in Canada's nuclear waste storage strategy. Earlier this month, consultants from the Loomex Group presented council with three scenarios for the site: a $8.4-million upgrade to restore basic aerodrome operations, a full $41.8-million build out to meet Transport Canada airport certification or repurposing the land for light industrial or recreational use. An aerodrome refers to any location from which flight operations take place, such as recreational heliports and small airplanes. An airport is a more certified facility with commercial passenger and cargo services that meets Transport Canada standards. The aerodrome, located on the west side of town, has been unused since the late 1970s. But, renewed interest follows the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) choice to select Ignace as the potential host community for the country's first deep geological repository. The multibillion-dollar project could begin construction in the early 2030s. Jake Pastore, a spokesperson for the township, said a potential airport would help people travel back and forth from the repository. "We wanted to see what opportunities would be available to utilize that land," said Pastore, explaining the facility could be used as a potential medical base or a feeder airport. The $8.4-million option would restore the facility to a non-certified airstrip with a resurfaced runway and capacity for limited commercial and residential air traffic. The $42-million alternative would accommodate business jets and certified commercial operations. It would also come with annual operating costs estimated between $550,000 and $600,000. No decision has been made, but township officials say the matter will likely return to council in the fall. Not everyone agrees that upgrading the aerodrome is a wise use of public money. Brennain Lloyd, with the environmental group Northwatch, said the proposal raises concerns about how municipal and NWMO-related funds are being used. "We do question where the money's going in terms of using it to upgrade their airport. They do have a small airport there now. I would expect that it's probably not a good use of funds because I think that the City of Dryden is much more likely to be the business centre and the main hub, if the NWMO is ever able to go ahead with their proposed deep geological repository," said Lloyd. Lloyd said the airport is not a central concern compared to what she describes as a larger issue: a lack of transparency and accountability in the township's dealings related to the nuclear project. "It's more nuclear money after nuclear money," she said. "Whether they upgrade the airport or not, it is not a central concern for us." The Loomex Group's study included an online survey for residents that could be found on the municipality's website. While official results have not been made public, Pastore said preliminary feedback from residents suggested greater support for the lower-cost option. He added that the $8-million investment may be the most practical route unless substantial backing comes from federal or private-sector sources. "Ignace is looking at who the partners would be in an investment for $42 million. It would have to be of significant interest to third parties, both airlines, industrial, and commercial, including the Nuclear Waste Management Organization. It's still undetermined at this point," he said.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
The US buried millions of gallons of wartime nuclear waste – Doge cuts could wreck the cleanup
In the bustling rural city of Richland, in south-eastern Washington, the signs of a nuclear past are all around. A small museum explains its role in the Manhattan Project and its 'singular mission – [to] develop the world's first atomic bomb before the enemy might do the same'. The city's high school sports team is still known as the Bombers, with a logo that consists of the letter R set with a mushroom cloud. Richland lies just 30 miles from the Hanford nuclear site, a sprawling plant that produced the plutonium for America's atomic weapons during the second world war – including the bomb dropped over Nagasaki. Over the decades, thousands of people in the Tri-Cities area of southern Washington worked at the plant, which shuttered in 1989. But a dark legacy of Hanford still lingers here: vast amounts of highly radioactive waste nobody is quite sure what to do with. Residents have long spearheaded an operation to deal with 56m gallons of nuclear waste left behind in dozens of underground tanks – a cleanup that is expected to cost half a trillion dollars and may not be completed until 2100. The government has called it 'one of the largest and most expensive environmental cleanup projects worldwide'. In recent weeks, what has already been a costly and painstakingly slow process has come under renewed scrutiny, following an exodus of experts from the Department of Energy (DoE) that is overseeing the cleanup being executed by thousands of contract workers. Related: Nuclear waste ravaged their land. The Yakama Nation is on a quest to rescue it According to local media, several dozen staff, who reportedly include managers, scientists and safety experts, have taken early retirement or been fired as part of a broader government reduction overseen by Elon Musk and his 'department of government efficiency'. The government has refused to provide a specific figure for how many people involved with cleanup efforts have left. The top DoE manager at the Hanford site, Brian Vance, who had many years of experience, resigned at the end of March without giving a reason. The changes have thrown the communities around the Hanford plant into limbo. And while the Department of Energy has said that only six staff have been fired, and reiterated its commitment to the cleanup, that hasn't managed to assuage locals' concerns. Those raising the alarm include politicians from both parties, environmental activists, and Indigenous communities who have historically owned the land on which the 560 sq mile (1,450 sq km) site sits. The US senator for Washington Patty Murray said workers were already understaffed, and that cutting further positions was 'reckless'. 'There is nothing 'efficient' about indiscriminately firing thousands upon thousands of workers in red and blue states whose work is badly needed,' the Democrat said. Dan Newhouse, the local Republican congressman is similarly concerned. 'A strong, well trained federal workforce is essential,' he wrote in a weekly newsletter to constituents. Concerns have also been raised by some over the difficulty former workers face in making medical compensation claims to the government for everything from cancer to acute pulmonary disease linked to their time at the plant. Taken together, there is fresh anxiety in a community, where many are still living with the health and environmental effects of Hanford. ••• Richland, part of the Tri-Cities, was obtained by the army in 1943 to house workers engaged in top-secret efforts to produce plutonium used in the world's first nuclear explosion – the-so-called 'Trinity' device tested some 200 miles from Los Alamos, New Mexico, in 1945. Though the city was returned to the public a decade later, it can still feel like a company town. To get anywhere near what is known as Hanford's B-reactor, the world's first full-scale plutonium production reactor, you need to sign up for an official tour. Yet a view of its grey, single tower, looming from the hillside, can be seen from state route 24, close to the Columbia River. Those expressing concern about the federal government downsizing include local Indigenous groups who historically owned the land where the site is located and were pushed off it by the government. The Hanford plant area contains the location of several sacred sites, among them Gable Mountain, which were used for ceremonies, and the area of Rattlesnake Mountain, or Lalíik, which has for centuries been used to hunt elk. The site is also located close to the Yakama Indian Reservation, home to 11,000 people, and the tribe has long pushed to be central to decisions about the cleanup and what it is eventually used for. The tribe recently signed a deal to carry out their first elk hunt in the area for seven decades. 'One of the biggest fears is that without proper manpower, there might not be a very good crew for the cleanup of the property,' says Gerald Lewis, chairman of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. 'Without this cleanup, that's been happening for a number of years, we're afraid of a nuclear mishap.' Dr Elizabeth McClure, a health data specialist with the Union of Concerned Scientists, is currently conducting research in the communities around Hanford. She says there is a history of government-led cover-ups over the years at the site, including what is known as 'the Green Run', the intentional release of 8,000 so-called curies of iodine-131 into the atmosphere in 1949. By comparison, the leak of radioactive material at the Three Mile Island accident in 1979 involved just a dozen. The Green Run was only acknowledged by the government in 1986. It later emerged that so-called 'downwinders', suffered higher rates of cancer and harm to their lymphatic system. She says Indigenous communities, and other marginalised groups, are often not included in research into the broader impact of places such as Hanford. 'In public health, we're doing work to improve the wellbeing of the public,' she says. 'If you aren't getting the insights and feedback of who's being harmed, you're not going to be able to make improvements.' Also monitoring developments is Hanford Challenge, an environmental group that has highlighted – among other issues – the estimated million gallons of radioactive waste already leaked into the soil because several dozen storage tanks are cracked. A plan to send 2,000 gallons of waste for treatment in Utah or Texas was put on hold after protests from communities on the route, including the city of Spokane and the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Nikolas Peterson, a spokesperson for Hanford Challenge, is concerned about job losses and how it will impact a cleanup operation that is taking place far away from the public eye. 'This level of reduction in staffing raises serious concerns about oversight, accountability and continuity. While the contractor workforce performs the bulk of the cleanup work, DoE staff play a critical role in setting priorities, ensuring compliance and maintaining transparency with the public,' he said. 'A diminished federal presence could slow decision-making, weaken oversight and reduce opportunities for meaningful engagement with stakeholders.' ••• For former plant workers like Larry White, the legacy of Hanford is complex. White says he loved the camaraderie of the job, sucked up the hour-long commute, and didn't grumble when he was required to put on protective gear that made the temperature soar. But the job left him with lingering scars. White developed skin cancer and a progressive lung disease that has made it painful to breathe. Even now, as the 83-year-old makes out medical compensation claims, he is not one to complain, even though it hurts to breathe. 'I was treated good while I was there. They took care of us,' says White, who owns and helps farm seven acres in Yakima, a town some 45 miles from Hanford. Since 2000, the government has paid out at least $2.2bn to former Hanford employees, representing 13,000 people. White is being helped by his son, Doug White, a consultant, community activist and part-time farmer who ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat for Newhouse's seat in 2022. His son admits he is struggling with the paperwork required to process the claim and is struggling to get help. He says it is essential officials are transparent. 'I'm finding it extremely complicated, unintelligible and opaque,' says White. 'It's a struggle. It's an absolute struggle.' Another former staff member, Richard Badalamente, spent 22 years working as a behavioral scientist at the DoE's National Laboratory, originally part of the Hanford site. Today he's a campaigner for environmental and other causes. Badalamente, 88, says the concerns triggered by news about a reduction in staff symbolise the peculiar relationship between the Hanford community and its history. 'The concern is twofold,' he says. He says the economic 'fuel' for the region comes from the massive operation that may not be completed for 75 years. He adds: 'The concern is the Trump administration will not support a robust cleanup.' It appears many of the recent departures have come as part through voluntary redundancy, or delayed resignation program (DRP), that have been used in other government departments to trim numbers. The DoE said by email it would not provide a number for how many employees had opted for early retirement. It said all requests 'were subject to approval, and certain public safety, national security, law enforcement, or other essential employees may not be approved for participation'. It also would not say how staff had been selected. It confirmed Vance's deputy, Brian Stickney, was among those who had taken early retirement. Vance did not respond to inquiries from the Guardian. Asked about the impact on the cleanup, the spokesperson said: 'The DoE is committed to meeting cleanup responsibilities at Hanford safely and effectively while delivering on President Trump's mission to increase innovation across the federal government and promote greater efficiency and accountability.' In a note to staff, he said: 'Hanford's cleanup mission is one of the most complex and challenging in the world, and the progress we have made is nothing short of remarkable.' How swiftly that progress now goes remains to be seen. Back at the visitors' museum in Richland, near the black-and-white photos of Ronald Reagans's 1956 morale-boosting visit to Hanford, a 15-minute informational film highlights in plain, unemotional language the scale of the 'unintended consequences and legacies of the Manhattan Project'. Solving these complex environmental problems, the film says, will rely on the same 'drive, dedication, human ingenuity and political will' put into building the bomb. • This article was amended on 20 May 2025. It was iodine-131, not 'iodine-1', that was released into the atmosphere in 1949.
