Sellafield workers are calling on the Government to give the go ahead to close the MOX plant at Sellafield, but only on the condition that a new and more efficient MOX plant is built simultaneously and adjacent to the existing one on the Sellafield site.

Unite, the union representing the vast majority of workers at Sellafield, has held the view for a number of years, that the existing MOX plant at Sellafield is extremely inefficient. However, MOX technology does present the opportunity to design and manufacture an extremely efficient plant capable of re-cycling toxic waste which would otherwise have to be stored.

The MOX plant in France reprocesses 195 tonnes of plutonium a year compared to the 2 tonnes a year processed at the MOX plant in Sellafield.

Unite’s national officer, Dougie Rooney, said: “The MOX plant at Sellafield is appallingly inefficient and badly designed. Our members at Sellafield believe the plant should be de-fuelled and decommissioned while a properly designed and efficient plant is built adjacent to the existing site. The staff working at the MOX Plant should be utilised to carry out this work so there would be no need for job cuts.

“The French have built an extremely efficient plant which recycles 195 tonnes of toxic waste a year compared to the paltry two tonnes a year that the Sellafield plant manages. The technology exists and Areva, one of the partners at Sellafield, has the know-how.

“The UK needs the technological ability to recycle toxic waste, but the current MOX Plant falls far from the mark in terms of efficiency. The UK urgently needs to build a new MOX Plant utilising the current workforce while the existing one is closed.