Warning over Sellafield cuts

Ahead of the Budget at the end of October (see pages 16-18), the GMB general union warned that any funding cuts at the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant in Cumbria would increase the risk of “devastating consequences” at “the world’s largest plutonium stockpile”.

In a letter to chancellor Rachel Reeves, GMB Sellafield branch secretary Roger Denwood and regional secretary Denise Walker said: “The health risks of radiation exposure, including cancer and other serious illnesses, are well-documented. Any reduction in funding would inevitably result in fewer resources for maintenance, monitoring, and emergency preparedness — heightening the risk of a serious incident.”

They added: “Funding cuts could also directly impact the highly skilled workforce at Sellafield, reducing the number of personnel available to carry out critical safety-related tasks.”

A safety incident at Sellafield could contaminate land and water resources and require extensive clean-up efforts. The economic damage of such an event would be “incalculable”, and would affect tourism, agriculture and broader business confidence in the region.

The GMB letter followed a previous warning from its general secretary Gary Smith and Prospect specialists’ union general secretary Mike Clancy.

This said that “severe budgetary pressures” facing the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority would result in cuts to high hazard and safety-related activities across the nuclear estate including at Sellafield and Dounreay — Scotland’s largest nuclear clean-up and demolition project.