The genetic effects, have been reported by fishermen, who find sea life with mutations in their traps. A massive nuclear dump near Sellafield and just over 160km from Ireland is “certain to leak” in the near future, an official report has warned. Levels of dissolved 239/240Pu in the water column decreased only slowly since the peak discharge rates in the 1970s and much more slowly than the drop in Sellafield discharges. The Government claims it is doing all it can, the Opposition criticises lack of action, the environmental lobbies issue cancer warnings. Second: Sellafield has turned the Irish Sea and its seabed into a nuclear dump. Gases are released from the plant via a number of chimneys (referred to as ‘stacks’). There was a decrease in the coastal zone around Sellafield and increases in Liverpool Bay and the western Irish Sea. Indeed, in the western Irish Sea, evidence has been found that 239/240Pu is being transported from the eastern Irish Sea. Plans by West Cumbria Mining (WCM) for an under-seabed coal mine off the coast of Cumbria near Whitehaven and the possibility of a Geological Disposal Facility, also under the seabed off the coast of Cumbria have raised concerns that transuranic radionuclides currently sequestered in Irish Sea sediments could be further remobilised as a result of these activities. Our question of WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THESE RADIOACTIVE WASTES ON THE IRISH SEA BED? BNFL admits that radioactive discharges in the 1970’s were 100 times those of today. There is precious little hard evidence that having a swim in Brittas will shorten a lifetime because of Sellafield's pollution. - plutonium, Ireland. There are no nuclear power plants in operation at the Sellafield site. This is as a result of improved waste treatment facilities at Sellafield, which convert much of this radioactive waste … - GP0CZZ Divers, Radioactive pollution of the sea Divers at work blocking Sellafield's radioactive waste pipelines. In addition, a proportion of dissolved nuclides did not necessarily remain dissolved in liquid form in the water column, but could become incorporated into organic particles and deposited into sedimentary environments where they could be temporarily sequestered, but subsequently recycled back into the environment by dredging, trawling storm and seismic activity. Divers at work blocking Sellafield's radioactive waste pipelines. The fuller picture remains obscured. Third: We shouldn't be too worried - yet - that the radioactivity might cause us harm. Second: Sellafield has turned the Irish Sea and its seabed into a nuclear dump. Change ). Why did none of these travellers on the merry-go-round check whether this information was truly new? Radioactive contamination of the Irish Sea by the Sellafield plant in England remains clearly detectable. Sellafield discharges two million gallons of radioactive water into the Irish Sea every day at high tide. Fourth: Be aware that while we have no evidence - yet - that the radiation might harm us, scientists continue to search for proofs that it could. Low level liquid radioactive waste discharges from the Sellafield nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in north west England had generated environmental inventories of about 3 × 1016 Bq of137Cs, 6.8 × 1014 Bq of239,240Pu and 8.9 × 1014 Bq of241Am by 1990. In 1999 Kershaw et al showed evidence that sediment-bound radionuclides over the previous decade were being redistributed. It is as follows - the seabed is contaminated; yes, a large-scale dump exists in the Irish Sea. Nuclear UK. The Irish Sea (Irish: Muir ... been described by Greenpeace as the most radioactively contaminated sea in the world with some "eight million litres of nuclear waste" discharged into it each day from Sellafield reprocessing plants, contaminating seawater, sediments and marine life. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. There is more radioactive plutonium in the sediments off the Sellafield plant in the Irish Sea than at the underwater Russian Novaya Zemlya nuclear weapons … But it has been doing that for decades. It is already there and despite claims by BNFL that its radioactive discharges are only one per cent of what they were in the mid1970s, the dumping goes on, which means the dump gets fuller daily. Irish Sea. Would these same participants be surprised to know that high levels of two of the most long-lived and toxic radionuclids, Americium and Plutonium, have built up in sediments in the Irish Sea off the Isle of Man? Any child would tell you that all you have to do is get close to the centre where things turn more slowly. At last there is some Grrrrr over the plan to dump heat generating nuclear waste under the Irish Sea - so far the plan appears to be to looking in all seriousness at having above surface nuclear sprawl at Ghyll Scuar quarry ( on the edge of Millom Deer Park ) with the drift tunnels … Continue reading Isle of Man Wakes Up to What is Planned – SUB SEA NUCLEAR DUMP. Following the decision taken by the British government in January 1947 to develop nuclear weapons, Sellafield was chosen as the location of the plutonium production plant, consisting of the Windscale Piles and accompanying reprocessing plant to separate plutonium from the spent nuclear fuel. (4). Ray el al. This sea is now considered one of the most radioactive bodies of water in the world. Low-level aqueous radioactive waste has been discharged from the Sellafield site into the Irish Sea for >50 y. 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Unlike the early US nuclear reactors at Hanford, which consisted of a graphite core cooled by water, the Windscale Piles consisted of a graphite core cooled by air. (1), Daisy Ray et al. ( Log Out /  The main activities at the plant include reprocessing of spent fuel from nuclear power reactors and storage of nuclear waste. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Already, the report has generated predictable indignation from Government and Opposition alike. (3) Radionuclide re-distribution can occur by two principal mechanisms. Low level liquid radioactive waste discharges from the Sellafield nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in north west England had generated environmental inventories of about 3 × 1016 Bq of137Cs, 6.8 × 1014 Bq of239,240Pu and 8.9 × 1014 Bq of241Am by 1990. He joined in. Delays in Sellafield waste treatment. 1) into the Irish Sea have varied considerably, with pronounced maxima between 1973 and 1975 (Fig. From West Cumbria Mining’s own … Fifth: Encourage the Government to continue to challenge the UK government, be glad we have a vigilant and determined group such as Greenpeace forcing the release of data, be thankful for dedicated Opposition speakers who demand the Government seek an end to such pollution. at the Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) in 2003 strongly suggest that the principal source of 239/240Pu in the Irish Sea was sediments in the eastern Irish Sea contaminated from past discharges, rather than new inputs from Sellafield. ( Log Out /  This suggests that material is moving from contaminated sediments and becoming dissolved in seawater where it is available for transport. Plutonium Remobilisation in the Irish Sea, No2Nuclear Power No 132 May 2021,  Low-level aqueous radioactive waste has been discharged from the Sellafield site into the Irish Sea for more than 50 years. INTRODUCTION Waste radionuclide discharges from the Sellafield nuclear fuel reproces- sing plant (Fig. The public expect Sellafield and the nuclear industry to be taking full responsibility for their nuclear wastes by reducing harm not actively inviting it with support for a development which induces seismicity and subsidence. Radioactive emissions from Sellafield have been at … The authorised discharge of low-level aqueous radioactive waste from the Sellafield nuclear site (Cumbria, UK) to the Eastern Irish Sea has taken place … First: The waste is not ours, we get no benefit from it and we should never be satisfied that a company working for profit has left this radioactive legacy for generations of our children to come. Enjoy your Dublin Bay prawns because the RPII continually monitors them to ensure radiation levels are low. https://www.no2nuclearpower.org.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/nuClearNewsNo132.pdf, – 2013 – the struggle for a nuclear-free, liveable world, – 2013: the battle to expose nuclear lies about ionising radiation, Speakers at Fukushima Symposium March 2013, – Marketing Nuclear Power Internationally, Nuclear energy – the sick man of the corporate world, – Nuclear Power and the Tragedy of the Commons, Birth Defects in the Chernobyl Radiation Affected Region, Nuclear History – the forgotten disasters, Nuclear Power and the Consumer Society – theme for December 2012, 2013 nuclear spin – all about FEAR -theme for June, Exposing the truth about thorium nuclear propaganda. Greenpeace told us that Sellafield is pumping eight million litres of radioactive discharges into the Irish Sea every day. Learn how your comment data is processed. The latter process operates when tidal, wind or trawling activity re-suspends bed material allowing transfer of radionuclides to the water column. Divers at work blocking Sellafield's radioactive waste pipelines. Nuala Ahern of the Greens said she was "once again shocked by the secrecy surrounding nuclear waste which `somehow' gets left lying around". activity discharged from Sellafield has now left the Irish Sea, following a well-defined path around the west and north of Scotland, where it enters the North Sea ( Jefferies et al. Originally it was thought that soluble radionuclides discharged from Sellafield (such as caesium and tritium) would be diluted and dispersed whereas long lived, transuranic nuclides such as Plutonium, and Americium would leach out of the liquid phase and become preferentially adsorbed to the surface of sedimentary particles in the water column, sink to the seabed and remain permanently bound and immobilised in seabed deposits and therefore isolated from human populations and the environment. - GP0J51 Divers, Radioactive pollution of the sea Divers at work blocking Sellafield's radioactive waste pipelines. Fish, shellfish, and sea plants in the Irish Sea contain substantial amounts of radiation. CONTAMINATION - The Irish Sea has been described by Greenpeace as the most radioactively contaminated sea in the world with some "eight million litres of nuclear waste" discharged into it each day from Sellafield reprocessing plants, … 2). It is not material that was "dumped" in the conventional sense - as though off the back of a lorry - but which has built up because of Sellafield's discharges. Scientists have been studying their position and watching for signs of movement at least since the mid1980s. The Government, meanwhile, is seeking urgent clarification from the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland, as though the body charged with monitoring our own waters, coastline, air and sea life for radioactive contamination should suddenly go off and begin sampling sediments in British territorial waters. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. Unfortunately, it has since emerged that a proportion of such sediment associated radioactivity has, and is being actively transported around the Irish Sea while the remainder is temporarily “sequestered” in the seabed but subject to any future disturbance mechanisms such as storm, wave and seismic activity. Posted by Christina MacPherson | also suggest that bioturbation – the reworking of soils and sediments by animals or plants – at the Cumbrian Mudpatch will continue to act as a source of “historic” Sellafieldderived radioactivity to the UK Coastal Environment. The Behavior of Sellafield-Derived 14C in the Northeast Irish Sea - Volume 40 Issue 1 We smoked crack, shared bongs, Dirty Linen: a personal history of Northern Ireland, Fiachra Garvey: From sheep dipping to Shostakovich, Up to 90: Ireland in our favourite words and phrases. Irish Sea. Addiction is part of my life, Shaun Ryder: Did my dad see our behaviour? How is a confused and pummelled public to deal with this dizzy whirl? Figure 11 depicts the amounts of 137Cs released into the Irish Sea from 1952 to 1985 (Kershaw and Baxter, 1993). Published data (BNFL, 1977-1989; Cambray, 1982; NRPB, 1984) and radioactive decay and ingrowth calculations indicate that, by 1990, the discharge had generated environmental … It is inevitable that such re-mobilisation and re-distribution will expose marine wildlife and human coastal populations and stakeholders to some degree of exposure doses to those pollutants via a number of mechanisms and pathways.” (5)   https://www.no2nuclearpower.org.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/nuClearNewsNo132.pdf, May 13, 2021 - UK says may dump more nuclear waste in Irish Sea after 2006 Planet Ark 13th December 2002 Britain said this week it might have to dump radioactive pollution stockpiled at its Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant into the Irish Sea after 2006 as tanks storing the waste age and may become unsafe. 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Activists from the environment group Greenpeace are arriving in Dublin this week to prepare for a protest against a shipment of radioactive waste which will travel through the Irish Sea to Sellafield. If this redistribution of historical discharges of radionuclides is happening by natural processes, it can be assumed that the problem could become much more serious as a result of human mining activities under the seabed, A recent report by Marine Consultant, Tim Deere-Jones concludes that: It is evident that any subsidence within the WCM designated seabed mining zone will generate some form and degree of seabed morphological distortion. This is an environmental problem as well as a trade problem. Its report released yesterday said seabed sediments collected 2 km offshore, near Sellafield's nuclear waste outflow pipe, were so radioactive that if carried ashore they would be classed as low-level nuclear waste. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. BNFL responded with the familiar refrain that these figures were not new and there was no risk to the general public. And never be satisfied that the Irish Sea is being damaged in this way, which brings us back on our own merry-go-round ride back to the first home truth. , 1973; Fine Gael's statement hinted at a fresh crisis, as though Greenpeace had discovered something new. Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. Sellafield is located across the Irish Sea on the Cumbrian coast and is approximately 170 km (112 miles) from the north east coast of Ireland. Irish Govt / NI Executive should remain concerned over UK nuclear developments So should Irish Councils, particularly coastal A deep waste repository remains a highly controversial project An offshore section to it has impact for Ireland / Isle of Man, coastal communities Sellafield remains of concern and much NFLA monitoring A large proportion of the Sellafield-derived radionuclides disposed to sea have become associated with the sediment at two sites close to the waste disposal pipeline: the Irish Sea Mudpatch and the Esk Estuary. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Following the Fukushima nuclear meltdowns in 2011, the British government decided to at least cease producing MOX at Sellafield, but with no way of disposing of the spent fuel, Sellafield is more and more turning into a radioactive waste dump. ( Log Out /  Indeed, recent data from Welsh and Scottish coastal areas suggest that the Mudpatch still acts as a source of radionuclides to UK coastal areas.” (2), The model developed by Aldridge et al. No, it doesn't seem to represent a public health hazard. There, you can find at least a few home truths to help you find your way. Published on April 8, 2003 by Erik Martiniussen. Greenpeace has been at it again, harrying British Nuclear Fuels for its discharges into the Irish Sea from its Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant in Cumbria. Each pile contained almost 2,000 tonnes (1,968 L/T) of graphit… ( Log Out /  "The Minister must make immediate contact with Greenpeace in order to establish the legitimacy of these findings," it said. BNFL must know that the Irish Sea so dilutes the pollution they daily discharge into international waters that dose limits are never reached, and that you'd probably get more radiation during a flight to New York. has not been answered by Sellafield. Since 1952, Sellafield has been dumping radioactive waste into the Irish Sea. This includes a cocktail of over 30 alpha, beta and gamma radionuclides. The Mudpatch is a belt of fine-grained sediments located about10 km from the waste pipeline. Discharges into the Irish Sea peaked in the mid-1970s and have dropped significantly in recent years. Originally it was thought that soluble radionuclides discharged from Sellafield (such as caesium and tritium) would be diluted and dispersed whereas long lived, transuranic nuclides … Liquid radioactive waste is discharged from the plant into the Irish Sea via a pipeline, about 3 km from land. Irish Sea. Dr Carmel Mothersill of the Dublin Institute of Technology in Kevin Street is pursuing research that might show that even tiny levels of radiation could cause harm. The British nuclear fuel plant in the Irish Sea The discharge of low level liquid waste at the Sella- field nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in the Irish Sea has been cited by the White Book as a possible source of the radionuclides that exist in the Kara Sea. Most of the239,240Pu and241Am and about 10% of the137Cs has been retained in a deposit of fine marine sediment close to the discharge point. It is a familiar merry-go-round. On January 28, 2021 By mariannewildart In GDF, Geological Dumping of Nuclear Waste, Irish Sea, Radioactive Beaches Sellafield, Sellafield. "Sea animals in the Irish Sea are contaminated with radiation from Sellafield, with levels of Technetium 99 reported in some lobsters to be 40 times higher than the EU Food Intervention Level. Irish Sea. Most of the239,240Pu and241Am and about 10% of the137Cs has been retained in a deposit of fine marine sediment close to the discharge point. The accumulation of radioactive materials is a process that has been under way for decades. He said that while he was in office he had been assured by the then British government that the Beaufort Dyke dump contained no nuclear waste. The Music Quiz: Who has written the most Irish Eurovision entries? Both sites are located ~10 km from the Sellafield nuclear site. Directly, by the transport of contaminated sediment, or indirectly via exchange and transport in dissolved form (dissolution). Delays in Sellafield waste treatment. Unusual high concentrations of uranium-238 in one of the Sellafield evaporators have delayed BNFL s plans to convert radioactive liquid waste to solid waste. Sellafield’s plutonium waste has continued to circulate in the Irish Sea Plutonium Remobilisation in the Irish Sea, No2Nuclear Power No 132 May 2021, Low-level aqueous radioactive waste has been discharged from the Sellafield site into the Irish Sea for more than 50 years. Irish fishermen often catch mutated fish that can not be sold. PLEASE USE OUR A-Z INDEX TO NAVIGATE THIS SITE. highlight the fact that “once mobilised, the radionuclides can be transported elsewhere in the Irish Sea … Although waste discharges are continuing to decrease from the Sellafield site, the Mudpatch may continue to supply “historic” Sellafield-derived radionuclides to other locations. It is equally evident that any such seabed distortion will remobilise previously sequestered seabed sediments, and their associated pollutants, which will subsequently be transported and re-distributed through the regional marine and coastal environments. Meanwhile BNFL yesterday told us to forget about the discharges, only worry about the dose: the level of radioactivity that can be delivered to the public as they swim in the sea, or eat lobsters, mussels or fish. THE IRISH SEA ABOUT - CLIMATE CHANGE - CONTACTS - FOUNDATION - HOME - OCEAN PLASTIC.

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