Irish debate on Sellafield 'dishonest'

The British energy minister has launched a stinging attack on the "dishonest" debate in Ireland about the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant.

Mr Brian Wilson criticised the "bombast" of environmentalists and the "long procession of unfounded scare stories" in the media concerning the controversial plant.

Speaking yesterday on a visit to Dublin, Mr Wilson said he "reaches for the sick-bag" every time he hears claims that radiation from Sellafield is responsible for clusters of Down's Syndrome children along the Irish Sea coast.

"Of course the debate in Ireland is not entirely honest. I have a kid with Down's Syndrome. I hate to hear kids with Down's Syndrome being used as political pawns. When I hear bogus claims about Down's Syndrome clusters, I reach for the sick-bag," he told The Irish Times.

"It should be possible to have a rational debate about a genuine and sensitive and difficult issue without resorting to falsehoods and highly emotive claims."

Asked if the Irish authorities could also be accused of bombast for their opposition to Sellafield, Mr Wilson replied: "I understand the Irish Government has its own political pressures, which I fully understand, but I hope we could reach a stage where it acts as a critical friend rather than a participant in an auction of indignation."

Mr Wilson said he understood that Irish people were never going to "love" Sellafield. "But if we can have dialogue and understanding based on facts and shared information, then it would be much healthier than a long procession of unfounded scare stories."

He was speaking after what he described as a "routine" meeting with the Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen.

Mr Cullen, who said the two had a "frank exchange" on nuclear safety issues, once again expressed the Government's concern about discharges into the Irish Sea. A report published by the Radiological Protection Institute last week said Sellafield continues to be the main source of nuclear contamination of the Irish Sea.

The British government has committed itself to reducing emissions from Sellafield to "close to zero" by 2020. However, in the past few years, emissions have risen rather than fallen.

Mr Wilson said the decommissioning of parts of the Sellafield complex would involve increases in discharges but these would remain within international limits. He was unable to say how long these increases could continue but pledged that Britain would meet its commitments by 2020.

He defended on commercial and security grounds his refusal to share technical information on the plant with the Irish authorities and admitted that he wasn't able to give Sellafield a "blanket clean bill of health".

The Irish Government has undertaken legal challenges to Sellafield under a number of international treaties. A decision on the first challenge, under the Ospar Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment, is due shortly. A second challenge, under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, begins in The Netherlands next month.

Mr Wilson pointed out that the British government had up to now won every action taken against it on the issue.

Looking forward to an "endgame" in these challenges, he added: "When a line is drawn under these proceedings we will have a good basis to develop a more balanced view and more rational dialogue."

He rejected as a "scare story" a British newspaper claim that part of Sellafield had a leaky roof which would cost £100 million to repair.

However, Mr Cullen called for an urgent reply to the safety concerns raised by the report and said he planned to write formally to the British government in the coming days.

Actions against Sellafield

• April 2001 Study dismisses claimed links between Sellafield and Down's Syndrome births in Dundalk.

• October 2001 Government says it will take case against Sellafield to European Court of Human Rights. This hasn't happened yet.

• November 2001 Government fails to prove the Republic's rights under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea have been breached.

• November 2001 Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth fail in London High Court to stop start-up of Mox (mixed oxide) reprocessing plant at Sellafield.

•  November 2001 Fianna Fáil takes out a full-page advertisement in the London Times calling for the closure of Sellafield.

•  April 2002 Campaigners send 1.3 million cards to Downing Street calling for its closure.

•  September 2002 Government and environmentalists protest, in vain, at passage of nuclear waste ship through the Irish Sea en route to Sellafield.

•  October 2002 Ireland takes case at arbitration tribunal of Ospar Convention for the release of confidential information on Sellafield. Result of the case is expected shortly.

•  June 2003 New case to start in The Hague under UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.