The Most Radioactive Place on Earth and It's Just 130km From Ireland - Sellafield

I forgot to add. Excellent thread by the way. It's quite amazing how many people who I've spoken to about Sellafield don't seem to know anything about it, or much in the way of information other than some vague recollection of it being "something nuclear".

It really is Britains' dirty little secret in that respect, and I'm sure some people, especially in the light of recent events, would be absolutely horrfied to learn some of the details that you have posted about here.

Well done that I.

reply to post by Lozzo



So you thinks its a coincidence the seaweed is on the same 1/10th of the beach as the site, and totally barren the rest 9/10ths.

Could be... or maybe.... its MUTANT Algae sprung forth from the Radiation Pool! ARGH! J/k looks like algae.

Apparently there were a large number of newborn abnormalities along the east coast of Ireland in the years following the Sellafield leak. Of course, it's hard to make a concrete link between the two, but it wouldn't surprise me. People think the Japanese are covering up the severity of the leak at Fukushima.. they've got nothing on the British government at that time. There were all sorts of coverups going on. I created a thread here a few months back after it was revealed that officials and employees at Sellafield illegally stole body parts from deceased employees and ex-employees of the plant for testing purposes. Awful stuff.

Originally posted by skjalddis
reply to post by AllSeeingI

 

130km from Ireland?? What about the poor folk who live next door to it in Cumbria?

Aye mate, I think I found out why the source article was phrased with the 130km from Ireland part.
The article's author's name is ..... Patrick Flannery!

Is it racist to assume hes an Irishman?

Found This:
Greenpeace investigates nuclear waste at Sellafield, 1994


Wow, this guy climbs right into nuclear waste like hes on a treasure hunt.

Did this guy grow a 3rd arm yet?

The article is credited to the Daily Mirror, a UK tabloid whose journalists are either too lazy or too motivated to pander to sensationalism to actually research the topic.

By common consent the most polluted place on earth (from a radioactivity perspective) is Lake Karachay in Russia. Makes Sellafield look as significant as a in a sewerage farm.

Lake Karachay or just Google it and take your pick of articles.

This tiny location within the Sellafield site is at least under some control and management, is a location not accessible to the public and actually safe to work and live near, regardless of what the lazy journalism reports, although I don't dispute the facts, just the assertion.

Try this interesting PDF for some context. These are places you may not wish to live in. I would happily live in Cumbria.

Report opnes as a PDF on polluted places to live

Regards

And yep, aside from the 'bright sparks' building this next to the sea on a flood plain (similar to Dungeness near Lydd), its also next-door to the Cumbrian mountains with their own seperate Earthquake faultlines, Dungeness also being ontop of the fault that crosses the South Coast which gave Plymouth a quake not too long ago.

Wikipedia Sellafield: "A confinement wall is scheduled to be built in the future to help it withstand earthquakes"

www.youtube.com...

People here have been protesting sellafeild for years, to no avail.

If anything disastrous ever happens there then Ireland would be pretty much done for

Originally posted by AllSeeingI

Originally posted by skjalddis
reply to post by AllSeeingI

 

130km from Ireland?? What about the poor folk who live next door to it in Cumbria?

Hey.... I was just using the Source Article's Headline as per ATS rules. I meant no offense. I found that phrasing a bit odd, myself.

I wasn't taking offense at you AllSeeingI - I realise that was just the headline - sorry I didn't make that clear.
I just found it absurd, and a bit disconcerting that they would fret about a place 130km away while there are people living right near there.

peace
J

Originally posted by AllSeeingI
reply to post by Lozzo

 

So you thinks its a coincidence the seaweed is on the same 1/10th of the beach as the site, and totally barren the rest 9/10ths.

Could be... or maybe.... its MUTANT Algae sprung forth from the Radiation Pool! ARGH! J/k looks like algae.

edit on (3/15/11) by AllSeeingI because: typo

If it sprouts legs and starts walking, I'm moving to France.

Seriously though, I strongly believe that there must be better ways of generating and harnessing energy than creating a poisonous legacy that will last for thousands of years. I often wonder how much ground-breaking research has been brushed under the carpet by the vested interests in both the nuclear power and the oil industries.

peace
J

I live next door (about 15-20 miles), I have worked there, my father works there, my uncles work there, a lot of my friends work there.

It's not as bad as is being made out in this thread.

Yes, it's had it's share of incidents, yes it has had the third worst accident in the world (1957 fire), yes it produces most of the worlds MOX, yes it is possibly the largest waste dump in the world, with materials coming in from all over the world like from Japan.

During the 70's and 80's the surrounding areas had a high number of childhood leukaemia cases, especially in Seascale where my in-laws live.

But the truth is (and it saddens me to say this), without it, Cumbria would be a cesspool of unemployment.

Thankfully they are decommissioning it, although they are talking about building one of the new generation plants there, as well as an underground repository, I attended the public meeting on the matter only a few months ago.

The world will be better off without nuclear, that much is certain, but it was created by our forefathers, and due to a lack of jobs elsewhere a lot of us currently rely on it for employment/income, hopefully our children and grandchildren will be well rid of it (well, making more of it, the crap left behinds going to remain for a few thousand years)

I live near another BNFL owned site that enriches uranium - Urenco Capenhurst enrichment plant.

goo.gl...

(the pin-mark is the entrance to the site which is located behind a new college and several other buildings.)


They even had a level 1 alert in late 2009 for not maintaining safety equipment

www.wise-uranium.org...

Urenco Capenhurst fails to maintain and test some safety related plant equipment
During a site inspection on 17th December, the licensee's Managing Director informed the site inspector of an event, provisionally rated as category "one" on the INES, (International Nuclear Event System) scale. During the licensee's periodic review of an enrichment facility plant maintenance schedule, (which defines key safety related equipment and the required maintenance frequencies for this equipment) it had just been established that a number of items of plant equipment had been incorrectly safety categorised, resulting in the failure to routinely maintain and test some of this safety related plant equipment. The maintenance should have been in accordance with the plant safety case requirements. The licensee was urgently testing these plant items and preliminary indications were that the equipment was generally functioning in compliance with the safety case requirements. This event was promptly recognised by the licensee as being a significant failure of their safety management system. (NII site inspector's quarterly report to the local stakeholder group for 1st October to 31 December 2009, Jan. 25, 2010)

Unexpected enhanced site perimeter radiation levels detected at Urenco Capenhurst plant

In late 2008 and subsequently confirmed in 2009, some unexpectedly enhanced levels of radiation were measured, at the boundary of the Urenco UK Limited licensed site, at levels still well below any regulatory limits, but nevertheless warranting further investigation. (NII site inspector's quarterly report to the local stakeholder group for 1st October to 31 December 2009, Jan. 25, 2010)

Seems like iit doesn't matter where the site is... if it is owned by "Sellafield" it is dodgy!

BNFL's depleted uranium storage facility at former Capenhurst gaseous diffusion plant (UK)

UK plans to commence deconversion of legacy depleted uranium hexafluoride inventory by 2020

In March 2010, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority issued its Storage Strategy for NDA Owned Uranium Hexafluoride Tails 2010:
"[...] Hex tails that are not planned to be either sold or returned to the fuel cycle would need to be deconverted. [...] Subject to NDA estate-wide funding and hazard reduction priorities, the present intent is to commence deconversion by 2020 and earlier if this is practicable. [...]"
> Download Storage Strategy for NDA Owned Uranium Hexafluoride Tails 2010 (31k PDF - NDA)

Depleted uranium hexafluoride leak from corroded legacy cylinder demonstrates urgency for tails disposition at Sellafield Ltd's Capenhurst site

"On 24th July [2009], the licensee promptly notified NII of a seepage of a few litres of radioactive liquor from a corroded stored uranium hexafluoride legacy "Hex Tails" cylinder, held inside a storage building. The Site Emergency Control Centre was appropriately manned for several hours, whilst the leak was promptly brought under control and sealed by the 'on site' Fire & Rescue team. There was no escape of radioactivity from the building and no personnel were contaminated. The volume (about three litres) and specific radioactivity of the acidic liquor, which had leaked from the ageing "Hex Tails" cylinder in a small localised area, breached the level defined within the Ionising Radiations Regulations 1999. [...]
This event has clearly significantly enhanced the need for timely "Hex Tails" disposition and NII will continue to press for the development and timely implementation of detailed plans for elimination of the "Hex Tails" hazard from the Sellafield Limited site at Capenhurst."
(Sellafield Limited Capenhurst Works, NII site inspector's quarterly report to the local stakeholder group for 1 July 2009 to 30 September 2009)

If you look on google map,, you can see massive outdoor "pools" with a shed-load of algae on them (at the back right side of the complex - next to the train tracks)

didn't mean to hijack the thread, just thought I would let the good people of Cumbria (and east Ireland) kknow that they are not alone lol.

Very interesting looking around the site with google earth / maps

Oh thought I would also add that my friends dad is dying from a brain tumour.....he was a monitor at sellafield, pretty much Homer Simpsons job, without the doughnuts.

Also you missed the tragic death of the 36yr old fellow, Neil Cannon, who fell 350 ft off the top of the pile (the one that caught fire in 1957)....inside, impaled on rods, took them 4-5 years to recover his body. The contractor he worked for, PC Richardson & Co, were fined £150,000 for breaching health and safety

reply to post by skjalddis


I know, and did you see? I found out why they say the distance from Ireland.... the authors name is Patrick Flannery....

Originally posted by paraphi
The article is credited to the Daily Mirror, a UK tabloid whose journalists are either too lazy or too motivated to pander to sensationalism to actually research the topic.

By common consent the most polluted place on earth (from a radioactivity perspective) is Lake Karachay in Russia. Makes Sellafield look as significant as a in a sewerage farm.

Lake Karachay or just Google it and take your pick of articles.

This tiny location within the Sellafield site is at least under some control and management, is a location not accessible to the public and actually safe to work and live near, regardless of what the lazy journalism reports, although I don't dispute the facts, just the assertion.

Try this interesting PDF for some context. These are places you may not wish to live in. I would happily live in Cumbria.

Report opnes as a PDF on polluted places to live

Regards

Jeez you are right! I am shocked that I knew nothing about either of there sites! My guess is a majority of the population are even more clueless than I am. I cant believe there is a place worse than Sellafield!!!! Just disgusting!

If you cant spend 5 mins next to that lake, is it possible to EVER clean it up?

After recent events and developments with the reactors at Fukushima, in the next few hours, the most radioactive place on the planet WILL be Fukushima, Japan.

Here's an interesting place, a bit off topic but it came to my mind because I was always fascinated by this lake when I discovered it near where I grew up. It's a Caribbean blue waste lake created by limestone sludge from a drywall producing plant to recycle ash from a coal fired power plant. The lake glows a bright turquoise blue but nothing lives there, not even bugs.

Google map images I understand are from around 2002-2004 and now the lake is drying up gray. On hot summer days the sulfur in the air made it difficult to spend time around the lake and most access to it was restricted, you had to hike to it from backroads.

Big Blue

Large image of the lake;
static.panoramio.com...

There was an extensive blog from the person who took that linked photograph but I couldn't find it, on Google maps the Wiki link is also removed, as most of the other photo links are to, if you look around the area you can see private ponds also infected by the sludge lake, which was created by piping the sludge 7 miles underground.

Small image;

lol my god.... was this one of his actual rants?? or was he making fun of himself for the Dlisted website? if so, then its quite funny... if it's a real rant(coming from a gay person-me) i'm sure it wasn't the juice box or bag of kettle chips that made him wear that gay yellow t shirt lol.

reply to post by AllSeeingI


I'm shocked as well brother, and I have gotten to the same conclusions about the 99% of the population being completely ignorant of this kind of crap on behalf of humanity, it disgusts me and saddens the very core of my self that humans in a false pretense decide to eat where we crap, and then bury some radioactive waste in it...


great post OP!

reply to post by AllSeeingI


This is just rubbish.

Try Chernobyl! That is just for one!

The usual scaremongering (not you OP)