Chemical breach prompts safety notices

The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) has issued two improvement notices to Sellafield Limited.

These notices were given due to issues with managing risks associated with nickel nitrate in one of Sellafield’s effluent facilities.

The problems involved inadequate control of worker exposure to this substance, which, while not radioactive, can be harmful.

Contamination was found outside a glovebox, leading to potential worker exposure.

Ian Bramwell, ONR Superintending Inspector, said: “We will closely monitor Sellafield Limited to ensure the identified shortfalls are addressed and will not hesitate to take further action to bring about improvements if we need to do so.”