In a radical departure from accepted safety standards, British Nuclear Group (BNG) at Sellafield plans to transport a shipment of highly contentious plutonium MOX fuel through Barrow docks this weekend using the insecure Anchor Line Basin dock which has limited safety features. The temporary closure for repairs of Workington docks, normally used for such shipments, has forced BNG to risk using a Barrow dock that is barely qualified for the handling of such a dangerous cargo.
The emerging but unpublished BNG plan will see 1.25 tonnes of MOX fuel transported by road to the Anchor Line Basin at Barrow where it will be loaded onto the BNG ro-ro ship Atlantic Osprey. The cargo, destined for the Beznau nuclear power station in Switzerland and comprising 4 MOX fuel assemblies containing around 90kg of plutonium in total, is due to arrive at the French port of Cherbourg on 21st November.
CORE’s Martin Forwood said “ Whilst we oppose all MOX shipments because of the risks of conventional road and sea accidents and because of the ever increasing threat by terrorists, this upcoming shipment represents an even greater level of irresponsibility by BNG in its unprecedented use of Barrow’s Anchor Line Basin which has few, if any, of the security or safety mechanisms internationally required for the transport of plutonium fuel. Because of its fissile component, MOX fuel is categorized by the IAEA at the highest danger level Category 1”
The Atlantic Osprey, purchased by BNFL third-hand in the mid 90’s, is a roll-on roll-off cargo vessel which originally carried tractors from Europe to the UK. Now converted by BNFL to carry MOX fuel, and registered at Barrow, the Atlantic Osprey has made two previous MOX shipments to Switzerland via Cherbourg using its designated port of Workington. Currently unavailable to BNG because of dock gate repairs, Workington is expected to re-open in early December.
Use of BNG’s specifically designated nuclear terminal at Ramsden Dock, Barrow, is ruled out because it has no ro-ro facility for the Atlantic Osprey. By contrast, the Anchor Line Basin is relatively insecure and offers little in the way of conventional safety equipment such as fire towers. In addition, the road into the Basin lies in the highly populated area of Barrow Island whose residents have already voiced their opposition to the shipment on safety grounds and because of the detrimental effect the transport of nuclear material will have on Barrow’s fledgling £80M dock regeneration plan.
Providing evidence of the ill-planning of this shipment, the Atlantic Osprey had to be towed into the Anchor Line Basin early this morning in order to practice its ro-ro ramping procedures in an unfamiliar dock.
Martin Forwood added “We have asked Barrow Borough Council’s Chief Executive why BNG is being allowed to get away with this cavalier flouting of all the best security and safety wisdoms. The real irony is that the production of this Swiss fuel at Sellafield’s crippled MOX plant (SMP) is already several years late. As such, it beggars belief that BNG are happy to sacrifice public safety for commercial expediency and are not prepared to wait another couple of weeks until Workington Dock re-opens.
Note for Editors:
The Atlantic Osprey has few of the sea-going security or safety attributes that, in 1999 were deemed vital by BNFL when it transported an identical cargo of MOX fuel to Japan.
She is single-hulled and has to rely on just one engine. Unlike the Pacific Pintail and Pacific Teal which transported the MOX fuel to Japan, the Atlantic Osprey has no naval canon on board, and will travel without an armed escort ship.
MOX fuel for delivery to Europe is transported in a lightweight container rather than the specially engineered transport cask used for Japan – BNG assuring at the time that the robust nature of the 100 tonne cask ensured that the plutonium was inaccessible to terrorists.