During the process of moving a consignment of three empty High Level Waste flasks from the Barrow docks spur line onto the main railway line (heading for Sellafield), one of the three flasks derailed and a second flask partially derailed. Drawn by two Direst Rail Services locomotives (DRS – a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Nuclear … [Continue Reading]
Covert plans to ship Dounreay nuclear fuel to US – contrary to NDA’s publicly stated decision to send it to Sellafield [No 03/13]
Option papers for the long-term management of radioactive material produced and stored at Dounreay were published by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) in 2011 and 2012. The material, owned by the NDA, included ‘Exotic Fuels and Nuclear Material’ described as comprising unirradiated plutonium and high enriched uranium fuels and irradiated (spent) high enriched uranium fuel … [Continue Reading]
Barrow nuclear ships to play ‘Pass the Plutonium Parcel’ with dangerous MOX fuel
Two Barrow-registered nuclear ships are gearing up to sail to France in the next few days where they will load a consignment of plutonium MOX fuel at Cherbourg for shipment to Japan. The armed nuclear ships Pacific Heron and Pacific Egret belong to Pacific Nuclear Transport Ltd (PNTL) and are currently loading stores and making … [Continue Reading]
Yet more ‘intolerable risk’ as Sellafield MOX fuel awaits shipment to Germany
Just one week after the Government’s National Audit Office (NAO) published its damning report on the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and the state of ageing facilities at Sellafield, the NDA is preparing to ship a consignment of high risk (Category 1) plutonium MOX fuel from the port of Workington to Germany on board its ship … [Continue Reading]
Maritime safety compromised by UK’s plutonium ship operators as details emerge of final MOX fuel shipment from Sellafield
Plans to ship plutonium MOX fuel assemblies from Sellafield to the small German port of Nordenham near Bremerhaven on the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s ageing ship Atlantic Osprey will have put opposition activists in Germany on full alert. Details of the transport, divulged in a letter by a Nordenham administrator after an 8th August 2012 meeting … [Continue Reading]
Dangerous waters ahead as maritime safety is compromised by extended use of two ageing nuclear ships owned by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority
Plans by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and International Nuclear Services (INS), who manage the ships on the NDA’s behalf, to continue using nuclear ships Oceanic Pintail and Atlantic Osprey for the transport of highly radioactive cargoes in European and Atlantic waters will raise major safety concerns as both vessels are kept in service beyond … [Continue Reading]
Nuclear Ships & Transports Round-Up
At a meeting of the Ramsden Dock Terminal Stakeholder Group (RDTSG) held at the nuclear shipping terminal at Barrow-in-Furness on the 19th December, a number of issues relating to ships and nuclear transports were presented by International Nuclear Services (INS). As a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), INS is responsible for the … [Continue Reading]
Sellafield High Level Waste shipment under investigation in Japan
Concerns are being raised in Japan about the raised radiation levels – above legal limits – discovered on the surface of some of the canisters of vitirified High Level Waste (HLW) shipped recently from Sellafield. In August this year, some 40 tonnes of HLW, contained in 76 canisters were shipped from Barrow docks onboard the … [Continue Reading]
Sellafield High Level Waste (HLW) shipment sails for earthquake region of Japan
Sellafield High Level Waste (HLW) shipment sails for earthquake region of Japan – a direct threat not only to the people and environment of Japan, but also to en-route communities in the Caribbean and Pacific and their marine environment. The shipment, which comes less than five months after the devastating earthquake and tsunami hit the … [Continue Reading]
Dangerously radioactive waste shipped from Barrow to Holland
At midday today (11th March 2010), under close police security, one transport flask of High Level Waste (HLW) was delivered by rail from Sellafield to Barrow docks where it was loaded onto the ship Atlantic Osprey for transport to Holland. Departure from Barrow is expected on this evening’s high tide. The HLW, contained in 28 … [Continue Reading]