Sellafield nuclear clean-up too gradual and too expensive, say MPs

MPs have warned in regards to the velocity and value of cleansing up the Sellafield nuclear waste unload and raised considerations over a “suboptimal” place of job tradition on the web site.

Members of parliament’s public accounts committee (PAC) suggested the federal government and managers on the sprawling number of crumbling structures in Cumbria to get a seize at the “intolerable risks” introduced by means of its getting older infrastructure.

In an in depth document into the web site, the PAC stated Sellafield used to be now not shifting temporarily sufficient to take on its greatest hazards; raised the alarm over its tradition; and stated the federal government used to be now not making sure price for cash used to be being accomplished from taxpayer price range.

In 2023, the Guardian’s Nuclear Leaks investigation printed a string of protection considerations on the web site – together with escalating fears over a leak of radioactive liquid from a decaying construction referred to as the Magnox swarf garage silo (MSSS) – in addition to cybersecurity failings and allegations of a deficient place of job tradition.

The PAC – which heard proof in March from Sellafield and its oversight frame, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) – discovered that the state-owned corporate had neglected maximum of its annual objectives to retrieve waste from a number of structures, together with the MSSS.

“As a result of Sellafield’s underperformance [the MSSS] will likely remain extremely hazardous for longer,” the MPs stated.

The final price of cleansing up Sellafield, which incorporates waste from guns programmes and atomic energy technology, has been estimated at £136bn and may take greater than 100 years.

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, the chair of the PAC, stated: “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 famous that one undertaking, a now-paused substitute of an on-site lab, had ended in “£127m wasted”.

The price of cleansing up Sellafield has led to tensions with the Treasury because the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, makes an attempt to tighten public spending and spur enlargement. Sellafield, which is house to the arena’s greatest retailer of plutonium, stated in February that just about £3bn in new investment used to be “not enough”.

Last 12 months, Sellafield apologised and used to be fined £332,500 after it pleaded in charge to prison fees over years of cybersecurity failings.

The PAC famous that the timeline for a central authority undertaking to create a long-term deep underground retailer for nuclear waste, together with that held at Sellafield, had slipped from 2040 to the past due 2050s. The executive is thinking about websites in Cumbria and Lincolnshire, even supposing Lincolnshire county council is predicted to withdraw the latter from the method after vocal native opposition.

The MPs stated they’d discovered “indications of a suboptimal culture” at Sellafield, and famous that the NDA paid £377,200 in 2023-24 to settle employment-related claims. Alison McDermott, a former HR advisor who raised considerations over bullying and a “toxic culture” on the web site, stated she felt “vindicated” by means of the document.

The PAC suggested the federal government to set out how it might hang the NDA and Sellafield to account over its efficiency. It stated Sellafield must document every year on growth in opposition to objectives and provide an explanation for how it’s addressing the deteriorating situation of its belongings. The NDA must submit knowledge at the occurrence of bullying and harassment at nuclear websites, it stated.

Clifton-Brown stated there have been “early indications of some improvements in Sellafield’s delivery” however stated the federal government had to do “far more” to make sure bosses safeguard the general public and taxpayer price range.

The NDA’s leader government, David Peattie, responding on behalf of Sellafield, stated: “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 stated: “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.”