UK taken to European Court over Windscale

The European Commission is taking the UK to court because the British Government failed to consult with them over plans to dismantle the old Windscale plant in Sellafield.

The Windscale piles were built to produce plutonium for nuclear weapons and was the scene of Britain's worst nuclear accident. In 1957 the plutonium piles caught fire and burned for three days scattering radiation across Britain. Thousands of gallons of milk were destroyed and it was estimated that at least 32 people would die from cancer as a result.

Windscale has since been renamed Sellafield, but the old plant remains. There are now plants to dismantle the piles. Britain claims that this is a military facility and so they had no obligation to inform the European Commission. However the Commission have not accepted this argument. They gave the UK warnings in January and April and as there was no response they have now taken Britain to the European Court.

Jamie Woolley, legal adviser to Nuclear Free Local Authorities said:

"At the very least the Government has been cutting corners in trying to evade the European law which is there to protect the health and safety of all of us".

Based on an article in the Independent 10 Sep 2000