91997E2747

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2747/97 by Patricia McKenna (V) to the Commission (1 September 1997)

Subject: Incident at the Sellafield nuclear complex, Cumbria, Britain

On June 19 1997 last an incident occurred in one of the ageing Magnox reactors at Calder Hall, Sellafield, Britain.

According to the company which runs Sellafield, British Nuclear Fuels Ltd (BNFL), a control rod was lowered further than required into the reactor core during 'switching operations'. Reactor power then dropped below 15 MW and, BNFL said, the reactor was automatically switched off.

Have BNFL and/or the British authorities informed the Commission of this incident? If so, what information did they provide the Commission with? What action has the Commission taken and/or what action does it propose to take?

Answer given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission (23 September 1997)

The Commission has not received any official information related to the event at Calder Hall from organisations in the United Kingdom. The British safety authorities are responsible for the licensing of nuclear power installations and they guarantee the respect of the safety and practices in the United Kingdom.

However, enquiries have shown that the event has been rated as 'level O' on the International nuclear event scale (INES) established at the International atomic energy agency (IAEA) and hence is judged to have no safety significance.