A BBC investigation has uncovered a catalogue of safety concerns at the UK’s most hazardous nuclear site.

Panorama found parts of Sellafield regularly have too few staff to operate safely and that radioactive materials have been stored in degrading plastic bottles.

The programme was told that parts of the facility are dangerously rundown. Sellafield says the site in Cumbria is safe and has been improved with significant investment in recent years.

The Panorama investigation was prompted by a whistle-blower – a former senior manager who was worried by conditions. He explained that his biggest fear was a fire in one of the nuclear waste silos or one of the processing plants and said: “If there is a fire there it could generate a plume of radiological waste that will go across Western Europe.”The whistle-blower told the BBC that areas of Sellafield – which reprocesses and stores nearly all of the nation’s nuclear waste – often didn’t have enough staff on duty to meet minimum safety levels. Minimum staff levels are set for both teams of workers and whole plants on the site.

Read the full article at source: Sellafield safety concerns uncovered by BBC Panorama – BBC News