SIGNIFICANT cancer deaths over a number of decades in Ireland would result if there was a major accident at Sellafield, Dr Tom O'Flaherty of the Radiological Protection Institute told the Sellafield conference in Drogheda.
He disclosed details of a previously unpublished computer prediction of the effects on Ireland of a major accident at the facility.
In the hypothetical case study, Dr O'Flaherty considered the effect of one High Level Waste (HWL) tank exploding at Sellafield. The prediction is based on a 30 day duration of release and an easterly windflow over 10 days.
If there was one hour of rain, people would be exposed on average to 7,000 microsieverts (the unit used for measuring radioactivity). If it rained for 10 hours, the exposure would be on average 25,000 microsieverts.
The average annual dose normally is 3,000 microsieverts, Dr O'Flaherty said. Exposure to 25,000 microsieverts would cause significant cancers and a "lot of deaths".