It will be stronger than Chernobyl; If you experience loss of teeth and blindness...

It will be stronger than Chernobyl; If you experience loss of teeth and blindness...

According to the "Guardian", this could pose a risk to the public.

According to that newspaper, citizens have already been told that if they feel that their skin peeling, bleeding from orifices, loss of teeth, hair and intermittent blindness, to immediately call emergency medical services.

Concerns over safety at the crumbling building, as well as cracks in a reservoir of toxic sludge known as B30, have caused diplomatic tensions with countries including the US, Norway and Ireland, which fear Sellafield has failed to get a grip of the problems.

The leak of radioactive liquid from one of the “highest nuclear hazards in the UK”, a decaying building at the vast Cumbrian site known as the Magnox swarf storage Silo (MSSS), is likely to continue to 2050. That could have “potentially significant consequences” if it gathers pace, risking contaminating groundwater, according to the Guardian. Sellafield, a sprawling 6 sq km (2 sq mile) site on the Cumbrian coast employing 11,000 people, stores and treats nuclear waste from weapons programmes and nuclear power generation, and is the largest such facility in Europe.

A document sent to members of the Sellafield board in November 2022 and seen by the Guardian raised widespread concerns about a degradation of safety across the site, warning of the “cumulative risk” from failings ranging from nuclear safety to asbestos and fire standards.

A scientist on an expert panel that advises the UK government on the health impact of radiation told the Guardian that the risks posed by the leak and other chemical leaks at Sellafield have been “shoved firmly under the rug”.

As Jutarnji list learns, an EU report in 2001 warned an accident at Sellafield could be worse than Chernobyl, the site of the 1986 disaster in Ukraine that exposed five million Europeans to radiation. Sellafield contains significantly more radioactive material than Chornobyl.

The report said events that could trigger an atmospheric release of radioactive waste at the plant included explosions and air crashes.

Norwegian officials are concerned that an accident at the site could lead to a plume of radiocative particles being carried by prevailing south-westerly winds across the North Sea, with potentially devastating consequences for Norway’s food production and wildlife.

The Irish government tried to take action against Sellafield by referring it to a UN tribunal in 2006 over concerns about the site’s impact on the environment.

Scientists are trying to estimate the risk to the public from the leak from the MSSS through “ongoing radiological dose assessments”, using statistical modelling.

Sellafield is described as “one of the highest-hazard nuclear facilities in the UK”, as it has been leaking for more than three years.

There are also grave concerns about B30, a pond containing nuclear sludge and described as one of the most dangerous industrial buildings in Europe.

Described by workers at Sellafield as “Dirty 30”, it contains radioactive sludge from corroded nuclear fuel rods used in old power stations, and its concrete and asphalt skin ribboned with cracks. These cracks have worsened in recent months, according to sources.