Plutonium in Brit nuke power station disappears

[pogingwapo 0]

Quote[/b] ]Plutonium 'missing' at Sellafield

Enough plutonium to make seven nuclear bombs is unaccounted for in the records of Sellafield power station, British Nuclear Group is expected to announce.

The Times claims an annual audit due to be published later will show that 30kg of plutonium is classified as "material unaccounted for" during 2004.

A BBC correspondent expected British Nuclear Fuels to admit a "paper loss".

And the Department of Trade and Industry said the audit "does not represent any material going missing".

The discrepancy, which compares with a 19kg discrepancy at the plant in 2003, is expected to embarrass the British Nuclear Group, which manages the facility.

In a statement, the DTI said: "This is an accounting process.

"It's not unusual for the accounting process to indicate material unaccounted for.

"Again, it's not an indication of any missing material."

Plutonium is a man-made radioactive metal that can be used as a nuclear fuel and a nuclear weapon.

Sellafield processes thousands of tons of nuclear material every year.

British Nuclear Fuels, the parent company of BNG, is yet to comment on the situation but are expected to do so on Thursday.

'Dramatic development'

BBC Science Correspondent Sue Nelson said the company is expected to play down any fears by saying that any unaccounted materials will be "within the standards of allowed measurement inaccuracies".

They are expected to play down fears by saying it is a "paper loss", rather than a physical one, she said.

Dr Frank Barnaby, a nuclear weapons specialist, told the Times: "There will always be some material unaccounted for but this is a dramatic development.

"This is a major reason for not reprocessing spent nuclear fuel because you can't tell what the material unaccounted for is."

Source: BBC

[lukemax 0]

looks like james bond traveling to north korea, again!

[theavonlady 2]

Casual apparel.

[EiZei 0]

[denoir 0]

Probably a clerical error rather than actual materials gone missing.

[SpongeBob 0]

Probably a clerical error rather than actual materials gone missing.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4272691.stm

Quote[/b] ]Missing plutonium 'just on paper'

Almost 30kg of plutonium apparently missing from the Sellafield nuclear plant is simply an auditing issue, it has been announced.

The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) confirmed 29.6kg of plutonium - enough to make seven nuclear bombs- was "unaccounted for" in auditing records.

Operator, the British Nuclear Group (BNG), said it was a discrepancy between physical and book inventories.

UKAEA said there was no reason to think there was any "real loss" of plutonium.

In a statement it said: "The material unaccounted for (MUF) figures for 2003/04 were all within international standards of expected measurement accuracies for closing a nuclear material balance at the type of facility concerned."

But Liberal Democrat environment spokesman Norman Baker said: "If the figures are wrong then this looks like serious incompetence from an industry that deals with highly dangerous resources."

[Acecombat 0]

Probably a clerical error rather than actual materials gone missing.

Are you psychic(sp) ?

[mattxr 9]

Casual apparel.

[im]http://217.160.51.226/comicstore24pics/05722.jpg[/img]

Haha i want that tie

[-ZG-BUZZARD 0]

Ok I admit to the fact that I have it in my basement and I'm selling it to the highest bidder.

[nSe7eN 0]

Countries like Iran in need of such thing, according to the CIA Iran will be able to create over 1 nuclear weapon in the few incoming months; with all threats that Iran faces a nuke in there hands would be a valuable playing card to stop any American action against any Iranian nuclear installations, or maybe some side of the conflict trying to find more reasons to invade Iran or destroying its ability to create such things.:p

I hope they find those materials, because if one of those terrorist groups reached them they can make a plenty of dirty bombs!

[EiZei 0]

I hope they find those materials, because if one of those terrorist groups reached them they can make a plenty of dirty bombs!

Overhyped stuff, the effect is much more psychological than real in my opinion.

[Homefry 0]

Isn't there some nuclear material missing from a Russian nuclear facility... or was I just hearing things on the TV the other day?

[theavonlady 2]

Isn't there some nuclear material missing from a Russian nuclear facility... or was I just hearing things on the TV the other day?

Most probably both.

[Ex-RoNiN 0]

Probably a clerical error rather than actual materials gone missing.

Are you psychic(sp) ?

You don't just walk into Sellafield and walk off with 30kg of Plutonium

It's almost always a paper error....probably a placement student was too hungover from the party last night to update the books correctly

[aviel 0]

lol, nice anwsers of some peapole, realy.

well i say;

ALWAYS expect the worse when 30KG plutonium dissapires!

but i think its again the paperwork

[Albert Schweitzer 10]

I think the chinese restaurant at the corner might have bought it.. my lunch looked pretty strange today. The duck was alright but the sauce was kind of very odd!

[Munk 0]

Ha, as far as I know my uncles one of the safety officers there. This is what ou get when you employ morons to keep and eye of things

[Rommel 2]

Could be paper error... could be real!

Its most likely a paper error because unless they was no one at all awake during the day and all power was out so any kind of security if they had one. (wait this is power plant itself isnt it? ) You cant just take it, so paper error... Then theres the idea that Iran have got it. What they do if they launched it, that would be hell you couldnt see the sky it would be full of a swarm of American nuclear ICBMs heading straight towards Iran, then Russia if it has any idea to kill America (lol OFP all over again) will launch and then.... etc. So Iran would be screwed and a Nuclear war could start.... I dont think that be wise Mr President of Iran.

[theavonlady 2]

I think they found it!

Quote[/b] ]Nuclear waste dumped on Britain's beaches

Sun Mar 6, 5:51 AM ET

LONDON (AFP) - Highly radioactive waste has been dumped in Britain's seas and washed ashore, and nuclear research station workers covered up the pollution.

The Sunday Times reported that the owner of the Dounreay nuclear plant in Caithness, Scotland, faced a criminal prosecution over a series of leaks, which have sent more than 50 radioactive particles onto a nearby public beach.

Herbie Lyalls, a health physics surveyor at the plant from 1960 to 1989, gave the paper a dossier that describes high-level radioactive waste washed down drains intended for low-level waste, and later flushed out into the sea.

It also claimed that radioactive materials were handled inappropriately, and may have led to at least two deaths from cancer.

The Sunday Times said Lyalls had spoken out about the pollution despite facing prosecution under the Official Secrets Act.

"There have been so many lies told to con the public about Dounreay that I feel I must put the record straight," said Lyall.

He said he was part of a survey team in 1984 that covered up health risks on a local beach where a highly radioactive particle was found.

Tourists continued to visit the beach for 13 years after that, until new concerns were raised.

The UK Atomic Energy Authority, which owns the plant, said safety standards were not as stringent previously as they are now.

Sandy McWhirter, a project manager at Dounreay, said he could not confirm Lyall's claims but added that the former surveyor "may not have been in a position to fully understand" proceedings there.

The UK Atomic Energy Authority has admitted that "at least several hundreds of thousands" of particles of plutonium and uranium, about the size of a grain of sand, had been released from Dounreay, the paper said.