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Sellafield

Discharges to the Irish Sea from Sellafield
Sellafield MOX Plant Legal Actions
European Commissions's proceedings against Ireland
Engagement with the UK Government and the European Commission
UK Nuclear Decommissioning Authority
Committee on Radioactive Waste Management


Discharges to the Irish Sea from Sellafield


Radioactivity in the Irish Sea arises from both natural and artificial sources.  The most significant artificial source of radioactivity in the Irish Sea is liquid  discharges, which result from the reprocessing operations at Sellafield.

The RPII conducts a monitoring programme of radioactivity in the Irish Sea and publishes regular reports on the results. Further information, including the Marine Monitoring Reports, is available from the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland website (external link)

Discharges from Sellafield and from other nuclear installations are authorised within prescribed limits by the United Kingdom Environment Agency (external link) . Ireland welcomed the announcement, in April 2004,  by the UK Environment Agency, the UK Nuclear Installations Inspectorate and BNFL, who operate the Sellafield plant, of the reduction by 90% in discharges of technetium-99 from Sellafield into the Irish Sea.

 

Sellafield MOX Plant Legal Actions

OSPAR

In June 2001, the Government approved the commencement of legal proceedings against the UK under the OSPAR Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (external link) in connection with the (then) proposed Sellafield MOX Plant.

Ireland’s action under the OSPAR Convention was aimed at securing the release of certain economic-related information about the MOX plant withheld by the UK (on the grounds of commercial confidentiality).

The OSPAR Tribunal issued its award on 2 July 2003.  Ireland failed to gain access to the information withheld by the UK as the Tribunal deemed that the information was not environmental information.  However, it did establish a legal precedent in that the Tribunal determined that Ireland has a right under the OSPAR Convention to access to information on the marine environment and that the UK has an obligation to provide such information.

UNCLOS

In October 2001, following the UK’s decision that the establishment of the MOX Plant was justified, and given the imminent commissioning of the plant, Ireland also initiated legal proceedings against the UK under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in regard to the MOX plant.

The action under UNCLOS (external link) related to, inter alia, the inadequacy of the environmental impact assessment for the MOX Project.

The UNCLOS Tribunal hearing of the case began in June 2003. However, the Tribunal postponed hearing of Ireland’s substantive case to facilitate resolution of an issue raised by the E.U. Commission that the case was more appropriate to matters of E.U. competence rather than UNCLOS.

However, the UNCLOS Tribunal did hear an application by Ireland for provisional measures pending hearing of the substantive case, and on 24 June 2003, issued a Provisional Measures Order which made provision for a review by Ireland and the UK of the mechanisms for inter-Governmental notification and co-operation. This Order has led to increased cooperation between Ireland and the UK on nuclear related matters.

Details of these cases are available on the Permanent Court of Arbitration website (external link) .


European Commissions's proceedings against Ireland


The Court issued a Judgement on 30 May 2006 which declared that Ireland, by instituting proceedings against the UK under UNCLOS, had failed to fulfill its obligations under Community law.

The Judgement also established that certain provisions of UNCLOS form part of the Community legal order and that the European Court of Justice has jurisdiction to determine disputes on their interpretation and application.


Engagement by the Irish Government with the UK Government and the European Commission


At Diplomatic level, the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dick Roche has had meetings with EU Commissioners Andris Piebalgs and Franco Frattini to push Ireland's concerns about Sellafield.

Ireland's concerns are made clear to UK authorities at all levels, from official, to Ministerial to Prime Ministerial.  The Minister has recently met with the UK Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, Alistair Darling MP,  as well as officials of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA).  The Minister has  made it very clear at these meetings that Ireland has significant concerns about Sellafield.

Ireland engages actively with UK consultation processes and is considered to be a major stakeholder in this regard. Recent examples include the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA),  the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) and the UK Energy Review. 


UK Nuclear Decommissioning Authority


The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) was set up in April 2005 as a non-departmental public body in order to provide a UK-wide focus and to take strategic responsibility for the UK’s nuclear legacy.  There are 20 civil nuclear sites, including Sellafield under NDA ownership.

In October 2006, the UK Government announced that the NDA would take an extended role as the single UK body responsible for implementing geological disposal of higher activity radioactive waste.

See the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority website (external link) for further information. 

Committee on Radioactive Waste Management


The UK Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) (external link)  is an independent body, established by the UK Government in November 2003. Its role is to review options for managing solid radioactive waste in the UK and to make recommendations on providing a long-term solution to the problem of radioactive waste in the UK.  CoRWM’s final recommendation for the disposal of radioactive waste is deep geological storage.  This has been accepted by the UK Government.  Development of a deep disposal depository may take several decades. 

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