Norway has voiced concerns over the potential reopening of the Thorp plant at Sellafield nuclear site on the North-West coast of England. The plant was shut down in April 2005 following the discovery of a highly radioactive liquid leak. The prevailing wind direction makes Norway particularly exposed in the event of an accidental leak of radioactivity at Sellafield.
UK plans to reopen Thorp triggered a written question in the Norwegian Parliament, the Storting, to which the Norwegian Minister for the Environment, Helen Bjørnøy, has now made a reply:
"Question no. 540 relating to the nuclear reprocessing plant at Sellafield
I refer to the letter from the President of the Storting concerning the following request for a written answer from Member of the Storting Petter Løvik. The nuclear reprocessing plant at Sellafield was closed in 2005, due in part to strong pressure from the previous Norwegian government. There are indications that the UK authorities are planning to reopen the plant. This will be extremely damaging to the environment and businesses along the Norwegian coast. The fishing and aquaculture industries will be particularly hard hit. What will the Minister and the Government do to ensure that the Sellafield plant remains closed?
It is common knowledge that one of the two reprocessing plants for used nuclear fuel at Sellafield, the THORP plant, was closed in April 2005. THORP was closed due to a major internal leakage of highly radioactive liquid, which was causing serious problems for the continued operation of the plant. The discharges that were stopped following intense pressure from the previous Norwegian government were of technetium-99, a by-product of the treatment of liquid radioactive waste from the other plant at Sellafield, B205. New cleaning methods were used to stem the discharge of technetium-99. This discharge was not the cause of either of the two reprocessing plants at Sellafield being closed.
The reopening of the THORP plant, which the UK authorities have now permitted, will not mean an increase in the discharge of technetium-99. The primary problem with THORP is not regular discharges into the sea, but the danger of major discharges as a result of an accident at the plant. The reprocessing at THORP results in the accumulation of large amounts of highly radioactive liquid waste at Sellafield. A large discharge of such waste would do great damage to human health and the environment, including in Norway. Large-scale emissions into the atmosphere in particular have the potential to cause great damage to Norway, just as releases from the nuclear plant in Chernobyl did over 20 years ago. Even though the fishing and aquaculture industries may be affected, it is land areas, and industries that use uncultivated land, such as sheep and reindeer farming, that are most vulnerable. In addition to the high risk of serious pollution, the leakage in 2005 and several earlier incidents demonstrate that security at the THORP plant is not good enough. The Norwegian Government is therefore of the view that THORP should be closed for good following the leakage discovered in April 2005. The Prime Minister, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and I have all taken up this matter with our colleagues from the UK. As chair of the Nordic Council of Environment Ministers, I took the initiative last summer to write a joint Nordic letter to the UK’s Environment Minister on this matter.
The fact that the UK authorities have given permission for activities to restart at the THORP plant is therefore very disappointing. Due to further technical problems at the plant, it seems likely that THORP will not restart operations for another four to five months. The UK authorities have indicated that the THORP plant will be closed for good around 2010, when the current reprocessing contracts are due to expire. Norway and the other Nordic countries have emphasised that they consider it very important that THORP does not continue to operate beyond 2010.
Norway has reiterated its view to the UK authorities following their decision to permit THORP to be reopened. In a meeting between the Norwegian and UK radiation protection authorities, the UK representatives explained the basis and conditions upon which the decision to permit the resumption of operations at THORP was made. The Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority has asked the UK authorities for further information on this matter. As early as May last year, I had a meeting on the future of Sellafield and THORP with the UK’s National Decommissioning Authority (NDA), which owns the Sellafield facility and is responsible for cleaning up there and at other civilian nuclear facilities in the UK. I will have a new meeting with the NDA later this spring to discuss again the question of closing THORP.
I have also discussed this matter with my Irish colleague. We agree that THORP should be closed for good, and we will cooperate more closely to safeguard the interests of the neighbouring countries. Discussions are now taking place between the Norwegian and Irish authorities on new joint initiatives in the matter. There is excellent cooperation with the Norwegian Embassies in London and Dublin on the Sellafield issue, and they are helping to raise awareness of the Norwegian view in the two countries."
Reopening the plant
On 9 January British nuclear safety authorities decided to reopen the facility for reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel at the THORP plant at Sellafield. To read the Norwegian Minister for the Environment's reaction to the news, click here.