Sellafield Ltd has cited a technological problem with some new equipment as the reason behind its incorrect disposal of radioactive waste, which cost it £772,635 in fines and costs at Carlisle Crown Court on Friday (14 June).
The case was brought against the company following an investigation by the Environment Agency and the Office for Nuclear Regulation, which found that a number of significant management and operational failings led to the disposal of four bags of non-exempt radioactive waste at Waste Group Recycling Ltd’s landfill site in Lillyhall, Cumbria in 2010.
The court heard that the bags — containing radioactive mixed general waste, such as plastic, paper, tissues and clothing from normal operations in controlled areas of the site — should have been sent to the Low-Level Waste Repository at Drigg, in Cumbria.
The Environment Agency and ONR said, following their investigation they have taken action to minimise the chances of this type of incident happening again, including working together to ensure Sellafield makes further improvements to its leadership and management systems.
Immediately after the incident the bags were retrieved from the landfill site and returned to Sellafield for correct disposal. Extensive reassurance monitoring was carried out by the company itself, the Environment Agency and Waste Recycling Group Ltd, which confirmed there was no contamination left at the Lillyhall site, or on the landfill equipment, and that no harm was caused to the public, or the environment.
In all, Sellafield Ltd faced seven charges, to which it pleaded guilty: two breaches of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 — relating to the disposal of non-exempt radioactive waste at the Lillyhall site; three breaches of the Radioactive Substances Act 1993, for failing to comply with, or contravening conditions of an environmental permit relating to management systems and equipment integrity; and one breach of the Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment Regulations 2009.
It was ordered to pay a £700,000 fine plus £72,635 in costs. In summing up, the judge recognised that the mistakes that were made indicated “basic management failures” and emphasised that, in the nuclear industry, “it shouldn’t be the case that lessons were learnt after the event”.
In a statement, the company said it regretted the incident and stressed that safety is its number-one priority. It continued: “A detailed analysis of the waste [involved in the incident] has shown that there were no environmental implications of the event, and that the maximum potential dose to members of staff at the Lillyhall site was significantly less than a member of the public would receive from normal background radiation.
“Indeed, in the Environment Agency’s own submission in court it says the risk to human health and the environment is so low as to be negligible. Following the event, before waste operations were re-introduced on the site, additional monitoring measures were put in place to prevent an incident of this type happening again.”
The Environment Agency’s nuclear regulation manager, Ian Parker, agreed that no significant harm was caused but made it clear that “the failings by Sellafield Ltd that led to the incident were serious, and we consider that, on this occasion, they fell short of the high standards which we expect of them”.
He went on: “For us, the most important thing is that Sellafield Ltd has learnt the lessons from this and put improvements in place to minimise the chances of this type of incident happening again.”
Ian Barlow, from the ONR, added: “We require the nuclear industry to control its hazards and ensure it has effective procedures in place for transporting and disposing of all forms of radioactive material, including waste. That hasn’t happened here: a failure in leadership and management resulted in the uncontrolled transport and disposal of low-level waste in the public domain.
“Our decision to prosecute [and the £700,000 fine imposed] shows that this will not be tolerated.”
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