N-Base Briefing 495
6th May 2006
ISSN 1478-4661

Thorp prosecution

The British Nuclear Group is to face criminal charges following the serious leak that has closed Sellafield's Thorp reprocessing plant. In the iccident, that went undetected for months, 83,000 litres of highly radioactive liquor leaked from a fractured pipe. (Financial Times 04/05/06)

Dalgety concerns

Notices warning the public of radioactive hazards have been erected at Dalgety Bay in Fife this week, which also saw the publication of a risk assessment by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. The report concludes that prolonged contact with contaminated material can result in a skin burn. The report is available at www.sepa.org.uk/radioactivity/publications.htm

New director

The director of human resources for the engineering company Smith Group, Arnold Wagner, has been appointed a non-executive director of the UK Atomic Energy Authority. (www.dti.gov.uk)

Photo alarms

Individuals taking photographs of the Torness nuclear power station in south-east Scotland were two of the 18 security incidents there over the past three years. Most of the other incidents concerned technical faults with alarm systems. (Scotsman 01/05/06)

Irish opposition

The Irish Government will oppose any plans to build a new nuclear reactor at Sellafield, the environment minister Dick Roche said this week. He said the Government would use every diplomatic and legal action possible. (Irish Post 03/05/06)

Hinkley levels

The Environment Agency has said radiation levels on beaches near the Hinkley Point reactor are "within acceptable limits". (Bridgwater Mercury 06/05/06)

CoRWM updates

The Committee on Radioactive Waste Management has published details of its latest stakeholder meetings on its website. Internet users will also be able to comment of the committee's draft report on the management of radioactive waste from Monday. (www.corwm.org.uk)

Shutdown

Spain's oldest nuclear power reactor at Zorita was shutdown permanently on Monday 1st May after 38 years of operation. (www.greenpeace.org)

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