IRISH GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS have sought to play down claims in a report by a British newspaper that there are diplomatic tensions between Ireland and the British governments over a leak at Sellafield nuclear site. 

The Irish environmental watchdog told The Journal that “there is a negligible risk to the Irish public from the leak”, while the government says there are “no significant matters that should cause concern for Ireland”.

The Guardian published an article yesterday which claimed that there were concerns of a worsening leak from a “huge silo of radioactive waste” that the newspaper said “could pose a risk to the public”.

The report stated that the building was in a crumbling state and that there were cracks in a reservoir holding “toxic sludge”.

It claimed that the issue had caused diplomatic tensions between Britain and the United States, Norway and Ireland.

In another claim the year-long investigation, named Nuclear Leaks, found sleeper malware which can be used to spy on or attack systems had been embedded in the networks and could still be there. The company which runs the site denied this claim.

Sellafield is located in Cumbria on the British side of the Irish Sea. 

An Irish Government source said that the reports of the leaks were not new to them and added that they were part of “legacy issues” that officials here were addressing with their British counterparts. 

Spokespersons for both the Department of the Environment and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have both said that a visit in July of this year was conducted and that no new issues had been uncovered. 

The EPA is responsible for the National Radiation Monitoring Network. It said in a statement that it was aware of The Guardian’s claims. It confirmed it was aware of a “localised leak” at the site.

“Nuclear power generation ceased at the site in 2003 and nuclear fuel reprocessing ceased in 2022, substantially reducing the risks on the site.

“The EPA maintains active and open communications with the authorities with responsibility for regulation of the Sellafield facility: the Office for Nuclear Regulation and the UK Environment Agency, and is aware of the hazards on the Sellafield site.

“The EPA meets with these regulators on an ongoing basis, with meetings taking place in October and November of this year. EPA technical experts and representatives from the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications also visited the Sellafield site in July 2023 and in 2022, where they visited a number of waste storage facilities,” the statement said. 

The EPA confirmed that it has discussed with UK regulators the “ongoing localised leak and the work that is being undertaken to address this”.

“Based on the information provided there is a negligible risk to the Irish public from the leak,” the statement added. 

A statement from the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications said that Ireland has a close working relationship with the UK on radiological issues.

The department said that it engages with the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero through the UK-Ireland Contact Group on Radiological Matters “where appropriate”.

“Officials from the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications and the EPA most recently visited the Sellafield site in July of this year and also visited the site in 2022. This was arranged, as part of ongoing engagement through the UK-Ireland Contact Group.

“At a technical level, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also engages with the UK nuclear regulators, the Office for Nuclear Regulation and the Environment Agency and maintains regular contact with them in the case of technical matters or other developments of interest at nuclear sites in the UK,” the statement read. 

The Department said it is happy with the level of engagement from the British side. 

“The Government is satisfied that, through our officials and regulators, we are being kept abreast of all developments at the Sellafield site.

“We are satisfied with the level of co-operation being provided by the UK Authorities, with regard to the facilities on-site. Despite recent media reports, there are no significant matters that should cause concern for Ireland,” the Department statement added.