The Government should respond to the latest accident at Sellafield nuclear plant, which exposed two people to radioactivity, by stepping up efforts to force its closure, according to a Green Party MEP.
Ms Nuala Ahern said this action was warranted as the incident had come after a series of unacceptable leaks and accidents at the plant. An inquiry is under way into a leak at the Sellafield installation in Cumbria which left two workers "potentially contaminated", a British Nuclear Fuels spokesman said.
They were among 13 people in a building at the reprocessing facility when a bag containing a waste nuclear filter was damaged last week. Alarms sounded and the building was evacuated. One part of the building remains sealed off while checks are made. There was no release of radioactive material into the atmosphere.
Ms Ahern said the accident reflected BNFL's "continued disregard for people's safety".
The two workers affected have been moved to duties in another part of the plant while they undergo lengthy biological monitoring to see what level of radioactivity they may have absorbed.
