Sellafield: Europe’s most toxic nuclear site – podcast | News - The Guardian
Sellafield: Europe’s most toxic nuclear site - podcast | News | The Guardian
The Guardian’s investigation into safety concerns at Europe’s most hazardous nuclear plant
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The Guardian has found that the UK’s most hazardous nuclear site, Sellafield, has been hacked into by cyber groups closely linked to Russia and China, as well as uncovering other safety concerns. Reporters Anna Isaac and Alex Lawson tell Michael Safi about the Guardian’s investigation.
A Sellafield spokesperson said: “We take cybersecurity extremely seriously at Sellafield. All of our systems and servers have multiple layers of protection. Critical networks that enable us to operate safely are isolated from our general IT network, meaning an attack on our IT system would not penetrate these.
“Over the past 10 years, we have evolved to meet the challenges of the modern world, including a greater focus on cybersecurity. We’re working closely with our regulator. As a result of the progress we’ve made, we have an agreed route to step down from ‘significantly enhanced’ regulation.”
The Office for Nuclear Regulation confirmed that Sellafield was failing to meet its cyber standards but declined to comment on the breaches, or claims of a “cover-up”. A spokesperson said: “Some specific matters are subject to ongoing investigations, so we are unable to comment further at this time.”
After publication of the Guardian’s investigation, Sellafield and the ONR said they had no records to suggest Sellafield’s networks had been successfully attacked by state actors in the way the Guardian described, and published a range of public responses on gov.uk.
Also, in the podcast, Samanth Subramanian tells Michael about visiting Sellafield on a reporting trip to understand the complex task of decommissioning the site.
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Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: nuclear
Nuclear energy provides almost 20 percent of the U.S. electricity supply. Advocates have called for an expanded role for nuclear as an emissions-free fuel source. But the economics of building new reactors are daunting. In addition, lingering safety concerns are an institutionalized part of the calculation of nuclear regulation, and highly radioactive nuclear waste remains a can that public officials have been inclined to kick down the road. The Energy Information Administration projects a sharp decline in nuclear power generation over the next decade, as new nuclear plants — two are planned — are more than offset by anticipated retirements of several operating reactors.