Sellafield fined £75,000 for exposing staff to nuclear contamination

Contractors at nuclear plant received radiation dose while drilling through floor

Terry Macalister guardian.co.uk, Friday 4 December 2009

Sellafield nuclear power plant in West Cumbria. where workers were exposed to radiation. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

The operator of Sellafield, Britain's biggest nuclear complex, was today handed a fine and legal costs totalling more than £100,000 following safety lapses which led to the radioactive contamination of staff. The successful prosecution of Sellafield Ltd by the Health and Safety Executive will tarnish the reputation of an industry trying to win public confidence for a new generation of power plants.

The business, controlled by state-owned British Nuclear Group when the incident occurred in July 2007, has since been taken over by three private contractors, Amec, Areva and URS Washington, who work under the Nuclear Management Partners banner.

Carlisle crown court fined Sellafield Ltd £75,000 with a further £26,000 costs. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, which owns the Sellafield site which the consortium manages, said the fine would be paid by insurers.
Mark Bassett, the HSE's superintending nuclear inspector, said he was satisfied with the "relatively high" penalty imposed. "Although the radiation doses in this case were below the statutory dose limits, they could potentially have been higher. They should have been zero," he said.

"The incident highlights the importance of Sellafield Ltd following its own arrangements for protecting workers, when undertaking potentially hazardous work with the risk of exposure to radiation. Sellafield Ltd should have properly assessed those risks, and then appropriately planned, organised and carried out the work."

Two contractors were drilling an area of floor, under Sellafield Ltd's supervision, when they were contaminated with plutonium by the dust produced from the drilling, some of which they inhaled. There was no immediate impact on their health although they received a significant radiation dose.

A spokesman for Sellafield Ltd said last night: "This incident happened more than a year before Nuclear Management Partners (NMP) took over control of Sellafield Ltd, bringing with them a wealth of experience and expertise from around the globe.
"Since arriving on site, the new management team has introduced a range of initiatives aimed at improving safety and performance and has focussed on ensuring disciplined professionalism in all that we do."
In the past Sellafield Ltd has been fined up to £500,000 for more serious safety lapses and the HSE recently warned that the chances of a major incident were still too high.