The United Kingdom has numerous nuclear power stations which are not reported on in this Website. The two major sources of radioactive contamination in the United Kingdom are the Dounreay Nuclear Facility on the North coast of Scotland, about which very little information is available, and the Sellafield fuel reprocessing facility in northern England, of which only a few of the most interesting studies pertaining to Sellafield effluents are cited below. Sellafield is anomalous in that it is the one major fuel reprocessing facility where the government has had the decency to document radioactive effluents and their environmental impact, as well as (since 1980) to attempt to mitigate the volume of these discharges. Unfortunately there has been significant increase in radioactive effluents from this location due to the new Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant, (THORP), now accepting commercial spent fuel from Japan, France and other locations for reprocessing. Sellafield is also the site of the 31 year old antiquated MAGNOX nuclear power facility and an associated reprocessing plant for MAGNOX fuel, where spent fuel is reprocessed in a weapons production complex, and which was the source of most radioactive effluents prior to the construction of the new THROP facility. The fuel reprocessing facilities at Sellafield have the capacity to reprocess spent fuel from part or all of western Europe's 152 nuclear power plants. These reprocessing facilities create huge volumes of liquid high-level radioactive wastes and highly toxic mixed wastes; the current plan to dispose of most of these wastes in geological formations underlying the Sellafield facility have the potential to create a radioactive plume as large as any Russian or US weapons production plume of the 1960's. Such stone age radioactive waste disposal technology will constitute what is in essence the world's largest french drain (see RAD 4: Definitions).
 

Dounreay

Site of the world's first fast (breeder) reactor, this nuclear complex plays a key role in producing plutonium for weapons production in Britain. All three reactors here are now closed, but a fuel reprocessing facility at this location will be accepting spent fuel from an Australian plant (Lucas Heights Research Reactor) for recycling. This location is the focus of extensive controversy pertaining to uncontained disposal of plutonium and other types of radioactive waste. During the operation of the original reactors a deep shaft was constructed within the research station's security fence to access a waste tunnel sloping out to sea; millions of curies or more of uncontained high-level waste generated at these facilities were disposed of in this shaft. In 1977 this shaft was the location of a hydrogen explosion which sent radioactive wastes into the environment; the shaft was then sealed, but leakage continues. A recent evaluation of this waste shaft indicates it will be breached by the ocean in approximately 200 years, allowing near total release of its radioactive contents. Recent reports documenting the widespread presence of plutonium on local beaches etc. will be posted by RADNET as soon as they are obtained from MAFF and/or environmental organizations located in Scotland.

Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food & Scottish Environment Protection Agency. (September 1997). Radioactivity in Food and the Environment, 1996. RIFE-2. MAFF and SEPA, London, UK.

• Also see the discussion of RIFE-3 in RAD 6: 4-B Radiation Protection Guidelines.

The nuclear fuel reprocessing facility at Sellafield, formerly called Windscale, has been the source of enormous releases of radioactivity to the environment since it became operational in the early 1950's. In October of 1957 the Windscale facility, as it was called then, was the location of a nuclear accident which allegedly released the following inventories of radioactivity to the environment: 0.7 PBq ¹³¹I; 0.04 PBq ¹³⁷Cs; 4 TBq ⁸⁹Sr and 0.3 TBq ⁹⁰Sr (Aarkrog, 1990). Asker Aarkrog gives the following encapsulation of Sellafield as a source point:

"... waterborne discharges of ¹³⁷Cs from the nuclear reprocessing plant Sellafield in the UK have varied throughout the years. Maximum releases occurred around 1975, when about 4-5 PBq were discharged annually. Since then, the releases have been reduced significantly....A substantial part of the radiocesium discharged from Sellafield (10-15 PBq ¹³⁷Cs) is probably still to be found in the Arctic Ocean." (Aarkrog, 1990, p.25-26)

With the 1994 opening of the thermal oxide reprocessing plant (THORP) at Sellafield, which is now reprocessing more than 200 tons of nuclear fuel from Japan and European countries annually, Asker Aarkrog's summary needs further updating, as what was a trend of declining discharges to the Irish Sea appears to have been reversed. A recent report by the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland has noted a sharp increase in levels of Technetium 99 in seaweed collected along the east coast of Ireland in August of 1994, according to a November 1, 1996 article in the Irish Times. RADNET is seeking, and will annotate and post a citation of this report as soon as it is obtained from the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland.

The following is the mean activity discharges rates in curies per month to the Irish Sea, 1957-1967 as provided by the Panel on Radioactivity in the Marine Environment (1971, pg. 32).
 

Radionuclide	1957	1958	1959	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967
106Ru	2218	3522	2956	3302	2095	1916	2781	1924	1752	2077	1436
103Ru	300	492	746	964	265	153	800	100	150	205	186
90Sr	137	210	129	43	41	85	46	81	97	76	116
89Sr	248	72	170	82	114	42	14	16	14	7	12
144Ce	215	497	583	74	180	200	116	267	288	571	1142
91Y+rare earth	300	567	506	83	201	125	90	90	73	75	203
137Cs	310	516	165	76	91	92	31	111	97	100	132
95Zr	59	210	415	196	140	78	47	1797	1479	1172	1566
95Nb	535	510	845	523	658	356	272	1735	2803	1947	2143
Total beta	5366	6846	7659	6461	3981	3742	4020	5055	4560	5464	6022
Total alpha	4.8	5.2	5.6	6.8	11.1	15.5	19.0	23.5	33.8	48.8	79.6

• This data does not match Aarkrog's assertion that 4-5 PBq of ¹³⁷Cs were discharged in 1975 (112,000 - 140,000 Ci). The 1958 maximum is 6,192 Ci, with Sellafield cesium discharges decreasing through 1967. The substantial increase of discharges in the 1970's is confirmed by the following citation (UNSCEAR, 1982).

• 4,480 TBq = 4.48 Pbq; this data is consistent with Aarkrog , but not with the Panel on Radioactivity in the Marine Environment data.
• These waste effluent inventories, though much reduced until the opening of the THORP reprocessing plant, raise the issue of undocumented liquid releases from U.S.A. fuel reprocessing facilities in South Carolina, Washington State, Idaho, and at other locations.

  ---

• The transit times of ¹³⁴Cs from Sellafield to Baffin Bay is approximately eight years... with concentrations levels in Baffin Bay at approximately 1% of the levels in the North Sea. (pg. 637)
• "Enhanced discharges of ⁹⁹Tc apparently began in 1970.... the unreported, annual ⁹⁹Tc discharges (1970-1978) are estimated to be approximately 40 Tbq (~1 kCi).

Aston, S.R. and Stanners, D.A. (1981). Plutonium transport to and deposition and immobility in Irish Sea intertidal sediments. Nature, 289, 581-582.
 

June 1978	River Esk, 10 km S. of Windscale	Sediment profiles; total core inventory, 1-15 cm	239,240Pu	945,600 pCi/15 cm cone (34,814 Bq/kg)
June 1978	River Esk, 10 km S. of Windscale	Sediment profiles; total core inventory, 1-15 cm	238Pu	191,500 pCi/15 cm cone (9,550 Bq/kg)

• "The total ²³⁸Pu and ^239,240Pu activities discharged over the period 1970-78 were 936, 1,128, 1,548, 1,776, 1,248, 1,195, 1,272, 984 and 1,572 Ci yr-1." (p. 581)
• "Previous studies have shown that marine sediments very effectively and quickly remove plutonium, and have suggested both immobile and mobile behavior of plutonium after deposition." (p. 581)

Baxter, A.J. and Camplin, W.C. (1993). Radiocaesium in the seas of northern Europe:  1970-74. Fish. Res. Data Rep. MAFF Direct. Fish Res., Lowestoft. 30. pg. 1-111.

British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. (1978-1989). Annual reports on radioactive discharges and monitoring of the environment. BNFL, PLC, Risley, Warrington, Cheshire.

British Nuclear Fuels Ldt. (1998). Unpublished documents and personal communications on accepting spent fuel from several U.S. nuclear power plants.  See RAD12 5-E: Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company: Decommissioning Debacle Continued: FOE Exposes Secret Plan to Dump US Nuclear Waste in Britain.

Brown, Justin, Kolstad, A.K., Lind, B., Rudjord, A.L. and Strand, P. (1998). Technetium-99 contamination in the North Sea and in Norwegian coastal areas:  1996 and 1997. StrålevernRapport. 3. http://www.nrpa.no/Top/Rapport/Srap98-3.htm.

Brown, Paul. (January 2, 1999). British warned of nuclear waste leaks. The Guardian. Saturday ROP Edition. pg. 31.

• "Nuclear waste stored at 22 sites in Britain is in danger of leaking, the British government's safety experts say in an unpublished report.  In one case, at Sellafield, in northwest England, there is a risk of an uncontrolled nuclear reaction." (pg. 31).
• "The strongest concern is for plutonium-contaminated waste stored in 52-gallon drums, filters and crates in old and disused facilities. 'The crates represent the greater potential hazard as in some cases the plutonium content and form and internal geometry have never been established with any degree of confidence.'" (pg. 31).

Eakins, J.D., Lally, A.E., Cambray, R.S., Kilworth, D., Morrison, R.T. and Pratley, F. (1984). Plutonium in sheep feces as an indicator of deposition on vegetation. J. Environ. Radioactivity, 1, 87-105.

• "BNFL Sellafield have discharged about 18,000 Ci (670 TBQ) of alpha-emitting plutonium from their pipeline into the Irish Sea since 1957. It has been shown that a very small fraction of this activity has been transported in sea spray back to the land, and maritime-derived plutonium from this source has been detected up to 10 km inland by the analysis of soil samples." (p. 89)
• "Plutonium discharged from the Sellafield Works of British Nuclear Fuels Limited can be detected 60 km from the site. On moorland pastures the concentration of ^239+240Pu in feces, expressed as activity per gram of ash, is roughly equal numerically to the deposit of plutonium on 1 m² of vegetation." (p. 87)
• "Some of the plutonium ingested by grazing sheep is absorbed and the highest concentrations are found in liver... about 2 pCi (74 mBq) g-1 of ash.)" (p. 87)

• "Radiological dose implications for consumers of wild foods around Sellafield have been assessed.  Habits were surveyed from 72 households, mostly within a few kilometres of Sellafield." (abstract).
• "In all cases, doses were dominated by ¹³⁷Cs." (abstract).
• "The extreme individual received a dose of 32 microSv a(-1) largely due to consumption of honey that included contributions from the Chernobyl accident, and hedgerow fruits." (abstract).
• "The 97.5th percentile dose, for all age groups of consumers taken together, was 16.6 microSv a(-1), or 6.2 microSv a(-1) if the contributions from Chernobyl are excluded.  Considering the contributions from different foods to the whole group of 181 wild food consumers, the rank order is honey, blackberries and venison." (abstract).

• "Fallout is found to dominate as a source of ^239,240Pu north of latitude 65(N, while for ²³⁸Pu a substantial fraction originates from European nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities." (p. 11)

Hamilton-Taylor, J., Kelly, M., Mudge, S. and Bradshaw, K. (1987). Rapid remobilization of plutonium from estuarine sediments. J. Environ. Radioactivity, 5, 409-423.

• "Plutonium in the Irish Sea... is transported into the estuaries of the area by tidal inflow." (p. 409)
• "Remobilisation is greatest at low salinites.. The remobilisation process appears to be associated with a rapid (equilibrium achieved in 15 min.) exchange reaction involving competition between Pu species, protons and major cations for the available surface sites." (p. 409)

• A detailed survey of source point releases and radioactivity in the marine environment in the vicinity of all United Kingdom source points (NPP and fuel reprocessing facilities).
• The 1982 levels of radioactivity measured near Sellafield reflect a decline of peak concentration ratios of contamination due to recent improvements in filtering the liquid discharges which have lowered the total amount of radioactivity discharged from Sellafield.

Hunt, G.J. (1992). External doses to the public from beta-emitters in the aquatic environment near Springfields and Sellafield. J. Radiol. Prot. 12(4). pg. 233-238.

Hunt, G.J. (1995). Radiation doses to critical groups since the early 1950s due to disposals of liquid radioactive waste from Sellafield. In: International symposium on environmental impact of radioactive releases. IAEA-SM-339/16. IAEA, Vienna.

Hunt, G.J. and Smith, B.D. (April 8, 1999). The radiological impact of actinides discharged to the Irish sea. J. of Env. Radioactivity. 44(2-3). pg. 389-403.

Hunt, G.J., Smith, B.D. and Camplin, W.C. (1998). Recent changes in liquid radioactive waste disposals from Sellafield to the Irish Sea:  Monitoring of the environmental consequences and radiological implications. Rad. Prot. Dosim. 75. pg. 149-153.

Institute of Terrestrial Ecology. (1987). Radionuclide concentrations in bird tissues, their foods and feeding areas near Ravenglass.  DOE Report No. DOE/RW/88029. Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, Cumbria, UK.
 

1986	Ravenglass, 10 km. S. of plant	Shelduck feces	239,240Pu	3,535 Bq/kg dry weight
1986	Ravenglass	Shelduck feces	239Pu	887 Bq/kg dry weight
1986	Ravenglass	Molluscs	106Ru	891.7 Bq/kg fresh weight
1986	Ravenglass	Molluscs	137Cs	836.2 Bq/kg fresh weight

Jones, D.G., Roberts, P.D., Strutt, M.H., Higgo, J.J. and  Davis, J.R. (April 8, 1999). Distribution of ¹³⁷Cs and inventories of ²³⁸Pu, ^239/240Pu, ²⁴¹Am and ¹³⁷Cs in Irish sea intertidal sediments. J. of Env. Radioactivity. 44(2-3). pg. 159-189.

Kershaw, P.J., Denoon, D.C. and Woodhead, D.S. (April 8, 1999). Observations on the redistribution of plutonium and americium in the Irish sea sediments, 1978 to 1996: Concentrations and inventories. J. of Env. Radioactivity. 44(2-3). pg. 191-221.

Kinlen, L.J., Craft, A.W. and Parker, L. (June 1997). The excess of childhood leukaemia near Sellafield: A commentary on the fourth COMARE report. Journal of Radiological Protection.  17(2). pg. 63-71.

Leonard, K.L., McCubbin, D., Brown, J., Bonfield, R. and Brooks, T. (1997). A summary report of the distribution of technetium-99 in UK coastal waters. Radioprotection Colloques. 32. pg. 109-114.

Leonard, K.L., McCubbin, D., Blowers, P. and Taylor, B.R. (April 8, 1999). Dissolved plutonium and americium in surface waters of the Irish sea, 1973-1996. J. of Env. Radioactivity. 44(2-3). pg. 129-158.

Leonard, K.L., McCubbin, D., Brown, J., Bonfield, R. and Brooks, T. (1997). Distribution of technetium-99 in UK coastal waters. Marine Pollution Bulletin. 34(8). pg. 628-636.

Livens, F.R. and Baxter, M.S. (1988). Particle size and radionuclide levels in some West Cumbrian soils. The Science of the Total Environment. 70. pg. 1-17.

• "A major exposure pathway to man for the actinide elements is wind-driven resuspension of contaminated soil or sediment particles." (p. 13)
• "... measured ^239,240Pu concentrations in air in the Ravenglass area range from 4 to 2000 mBq m-3, with a mean of 260."

• Windscale (Sellafield) derived radionuclides released in 1974-79 (only)... "would result, if mixed uniformly into the upper 150 m, in ¹³⁷Cs concentrations seven times and in ⁹⁰Sr concentrations three times those expected from fallout alone." (p. 253)
• Comprehensive bibliography.

• "Almost all of the plutonium and americium discharged as liquid effluent from Sellafield is retained in the sediments of the north east Irish Sea, whereas the waste radiocesium shows relatively conservative behavior in seawater and is mostly dispersed into more distant waters..." (p. 42)

McCarthy, W. and Nicholls, T.M. (1990). Mass-spectrometric analysis of plutonium in soils near Sellafield. J. Environ. Radioactivity, 12, 1, 1-12.
 

Sept. 1985

Newbiggin

Avg. of 7 silt samples

239,240Pu

2,563 Bq/kg

• Between 1966 and 1984 Sellafield discharged 20,821 TBq ²⁴¹Pu (566,000 curies) to the sea, with smaller amounts dispersed in the atmosphere.
• ²⁴¹Pu "grows into" ²⁴¹Am.
• Liquid discharges of ²³⁹Pu amounted to 630.6 TBq in the same period.

McKay, W.A., Bonnett, P.J.P., Barr, H.M. and Howorth, J.M. (1993). Radiological assessment of radioactivity in tide washed pastures in South-West Scotland. J. Environ. Radioactivity, 21, 2, 77-106.

• "In tide washed pastures in south-west Scotland... The levels of ¹³⁷Cs, ¹³⁴Cs, ²³⁸Pu, ^239+240Pu and ²⁴¹Am found, although small, were clearly in excess of the background from other sources and confirmed that there was a significant contribution from Sellafield marine discharges." (p. 77)

Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. (1997). Abnormal release of ruthenium-106 from BNFL Sellafield. MAFF, London. http://www.maff.gov.uk/food/incid_1/bnflrept.htm.

Mitchell, P.I., Condren, O.M., Vintro, L.L. and Mcmahon, C.A. (April 8, 1999). Trends in plutonium, americium and radiocaesium accumulation and long-term bioavailability in the western Irish sea mud basin. J. of Env. Radioactivity. 44(2-3). pg. 223-251.

Norris, R.S., Burrows, A.S. and Fieldhouse, R.W. (1994). Nuclear weapons data book. Vol. 5, British, French, and Chinese nuclear weapons. Westview Press, Boulder, San Francisco, Oxford.

O'Donnell, R.G., Mitchell, P.I., Priest, N.D., Strange, L., Fox, A., Henshaw, D.L. and Long, S.C. (1997). Variations in the concentration of plutonium, strontium-90 and total alpha-emitters in human teeth collected within the British Isles. The Science of the Total Environment. 201. pg. 235-243.

• "Concentrations of plutonium-239, plutonium-240, strontium-90 and total alpha-emitters have been measured in children's teeth collected throughout Great Britain and Ireland." (pg. 235).
• "Regression analyses indicated that the concentrations of plutonium, but not strontium-90 or total alpha-emitters, decreased with increasing distance from the Sellafield nuclear fuel reprocessing plant -- suggesting that this plant is a source of plutonium contamination in the wider population of the British Isles. Nevertheless, the measured absolute concentrations of plutonium (mean = 5 +/- 4 mBq kg^-1 ash wt.) were so low that they are considered to present an insignificant radiological hazard." (pg. 235).

• "At each site variations of ²⁴¹Am and ¹³⁷Cs are presented, and most appear to show a more or less complete record of the history of discharges from Sellafield." (p. 1)
• These are the highest levels of farfield contamination recorded from Sellafield discharges to date.

Preston, A. and Jeffries, D.F. (1967). The assessment of the principal public radiation exposure from, and the resulting control of, discharges of aqueous radioactive waste from the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority factory at Windscale, Cumberland.
 

1959

South Wales

Porphyra (seaweed)

106Ru

40,000 Bq/kg

• At the peak of Sellafield discharges, Sellafield derived ¹⁰⁶Ru provided exposure to consumers of laverbread, which is made from this seaweed.

Stanners, D.A. and Aston, S.R. (1982). Desorption of ¹⁰⁶Ru, ¹³⁴Cs, ¹³⁷Cs, ¹⁴⁴Ce and ²⁴¹Am from Intertidal Sediment contaminated by nuclear fuel reprocessing effluents. Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science, 14, 6, 687-691.

• "Radiocaesium nuclides can be desorbed up to 30% of their initial activity, indicating at least a partially reversible process. Other radionuclides showed negligible desorption." (p. 687).

• "¹²⁹I has been released during operations at the BNFL nuclear fuel reprocessing plant at Sellafield in west Cumbria over the past thirty years with about 95% being discharged into the sea and 5% into the atmosphere." (p. 175).

Thompson, N., Cross, J.E., Miller, R.M. and Day, J.P. (1982). Alpha and gamma radioactivity in Fucus vesiculosus from the Irish Sea. Environmental Pollution. 3. pg. 11-19.
 

1980	5 km. N. of Sellafield	Fucus vesiculosus	239Pu	57,230 pCi/kg wet weight
1980	5 km. N. of Sellafield	Fucus vesiculosus	137Cs	144,500 pCi/kg wet weight
1990	8 km S. of Sellafield	Fucus vesiculosus	106Ru	161,900 pCi/kg
1990	8 km S. of Sellafield	Fucus vesiculosus	95Zr	1,034,900 pCi/kg

• "...Significant decreases in activity were seen with increased distance from the source." (p. 11).

Wilkins, B.T. et. al. (April 8, 1999). Potential incursion of marine sediment inland during storms: The radiological importance of actinider. J. of Env. Radioactivity. 44(2-3). pg. 371-388.

Wilkins, B.T., Simmonds, J.R. and Cooper, J.R. (1994). Assessment of the present and future implications of radioactive contamination of the Irish Sea coastal region of Cumbria. NRPB-R267. HMSO, London.

Woodhead, D.S. (April 8, 1999). Actinides in the Irish Sea. J. of Env. Radioactivity. 44(2-3). pg. 127-128.