The Ministry of Defence was yesterday struggling to counter allegations that there were serious safety oversights at a secret nuclear plant in Derby.
The Rolls-Royce plant in Raynesway, which makes propulsion systems for nuclear submarines, has been secretly engaged in the processing of enriched uranium. This is similar work to that done in the Tokaimura nuclear plant in Japan, at which there was a serious radiation leak last month.
It is feared that a leak at the plant could have even more serious ramifications than the one at Tokaimura, however, as it is mixing more highly-concentrated uranium.
It is reported that workers from the Raynesway plant contacted the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in the wake of the Tokaimura leak as they feared that a similar accident might take place. They reported that in the event of such an accident, there would be no radiation-containment facility at the plant, nor would there be any off-site contingency plans for dealing with it.
A report by the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) earlier this year also concluded that the plant "was unable to demonstrate adequate contamination control arrangements".
CND was yesterday leading the charge of criticism that has swept through the British media. "Urgent answers are needed to some very serious questions", said the chairman of CND, Mr Dave Knight. "Why is there no emergency plan? Are there any containment procedures for a critical accident? The people of Derby have a right to know."
The Health and Safety Executive, of which the NII is a part, has confirmed that there were safety problems at Raynesway, but insisted that they had been resolved. "There was an emergency exercise in March following which we asked for some improvements and a repeat of the exercise, which took place on Wednesday. The NII was satisfied", said a spokesman for the HSE.
The Ministry of Defence has meanwhile insisted that the plant does not pose a risk. "This plant is licensed by the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate and has full processing approval", said an MoD spokesman.
These assertions may not be enough to satisfy an increasingly suspicious public, however. Residents in the area around the plant were never told that potentially dangerous materials were being processed there. "It is very worrying, especially after what happened in Japan", said a local mother of two, Ms Alison Jones. "We need to know what is happening."
A Raynesway councillor, Ms John Ahern, said: "We need to seek clarification that this area is safe and that there are no health problems as a result of this."
Rolls-Royce is reported to have been mixing 93 per cent enriched uranium at Raynesway compared with the 20 per cent enriched uranium which was in use in Tokaimura. When a fission chain reaction was accidentally initiated in the Japanese plant, radioactivity levels at the plant soared to 10,000 times normal.