<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=629 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3>EC court challenge to Sellafield


</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=416><!-- S BO --><!-- S IIMA --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=203 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD> EC inspectors says access has been poor at Sellafield

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IIMA -->The European Commission is expected to launch formal legal proceedings against the UK over nuclear safety at Sellafield plant.

The European Court of Justice will hear claims on Friday that Britain has not been allowing the EC proper access.

EU inspectors are required to check on material being stored in nuclear plants, to ensure it is not being diverted from peaceful purposes.

Inspectors have complained since their first UK visit in 1986 of poor access.

The lack of access makes it impossible for inspectors to check the actual amount of material stored against the official records, it is claimed.

The legal case centres on some fuel which corroded years ago while awaiting re-processing.

It is now in the form of a sludge, making it difficult to estimate the amount of material.

Fine threat

The high levels of radiation also prohibit on the spot inspections.

Earlier this year, Sellafield was warned it could face stiff penalties for not meeting stringent EC rules on nuclear waste.

The Cumbrian nuclear reprocessing plant was given until 1 June to come up with an accounting plan on how spent nuclear fuel has been processed.

Under the 1957 Euratom Treaty it is up to EU inspectors to check accounting records of the nuclear material and compare them with the results of on-the-spot inspections. The EU has said that the main purpose of such inspections is to make sure the nuclear material used is not diverted from peaceful and non-military uses. <!-- E BO -->

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cumbria/3623312.stm



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