The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has issued a warning letter to BNFL, operator of the Chapelcross Nuclear Power Station. This follows an incident on January 17 and 18 this year when 13,000 gallons of effluent from a detention tank was discharged to the Solway Firth each day without first obtaining the pre-discharge sample required under the plant’s liquid discharge authorisation.

During its own investigation of the matter, SEPA officers concluded that the cause was a combination of human error on the part of the plant operators and deficient procedures.

SEPA is satisfied that an estimate of the level of radioactivity actually discharged during the incident was unlikely to have breached any authorised limit.

"SEPA expects compliance with all conditions of the authorisation and therefore, views this matter very seriously," said Specialist Environment Protection Officer, Dr Jim Gemmill. "Any recurrence or similar incident is likely to lead to a higher level of enforcement action."

NOTES

• The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) was established under the Environment Act 1995. Its main duty is to protect the environment by controlling pollution to land, air and water in Scotland.
• Radioactive substances - SEPA regulates the use and disposal of radioactive substances; holds the national register for the use and disposal of radioactive substances; controls discharges of radioactive waste from nuclear installations; and manages the UK Radioactive Incident Monitoring Network (RIMNET) in Scotland.
• The incident was potentially an offence under the Radioactive Substances Act 1993 as the site had breached condition 7 (sampling) of its RSA Liquid Authorisation, by failing to comply with Annex 3 of the implementation document for discharge of liquid waste from Chapelcross Nuclear Power Station, effective date 1 March 1989.