Report Assesses Risks From Incidents At Sellafield

Phil Hogan T.D., Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government today released the summary of a report prepared by an independent team of international experts which assesses the probable risks to Ireland from incidents at the Sellafield nuclear site.

The Report concluded that incidents at the Sellafield site resulting in the release of radioactive material would result in "no observable health effects in Ireland".

Minister Hogan said: "For many decades, the Government of Ireland and its people have been concerned about the potential impacts on Ireland and the Irish Sea from nuclear activities at the Sellafield site. A group of eight independent experts quantified the likelihood of incidents occurring at Sellafield, and amongst their key findings is, that incidents at the Sellafield site resulting in the release of radioactive material would result in no observable health effects in Ireland."

The Minister added: "My Department and others will now study the information in the report in detail and use it to feed it into Government policies relating to Sellafield and nuclear policy in the UK. Ireland must continue to be vigilant in relation to Sellafield as work to decommission the site over the lifetime of the 'Sellafield Plan' continues. It is critical from an Irish perspective that the UK decommissioning of the site is undertaken safely and in accordance with best international practice."

(CD/GK)