Group claim computer error resulted was cause
Nuclear energy company Sellafield has pleaded guilty to charges of dumping radioactive waste in a landfill.
In April 2010, the group disposed of four bags containing contaminated materials including tissues and clothing in the Lillyhall landfill site in Workington, Cumbria, when they should have been sent to the low level waste repository at Drigg. Sellafield Ltd claim this error occurred due to a computer fault, which accidently labelled the bags as general waste. All four bags were retrieved as soon as the error was discovered and disposed of correctly, and no contamination was discovered in the landfill afterwards.
Sellafield Ltd blames the error on a new computer monitor
(Image source - The Guardian)
Ian Parker, nuclear regulation manager for the Environment Agency, said, ‘Our overriding aim in regulating the nuclear industry is to protect people and the environment from the release of radioactive wastes into the environment. We have carried out a thorough investigation in partnership with the Office for Nuclear Regulation and have already required Sellafield Ltd to take action to ensure this does not happen again’.
Sellafield will discover its fate on 8th March, when sentencing will take place at Carlisle Crown Court.
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