REVEALED: BRITAIN'S SECRET NUCLEAR PLANT

A SECRET nuclear fuel plant processing radioactive material a mile from the centre of a British city has been revealed to have serious safety flaws.

Nuclear fuel more volatile than the uranium which caused the recent radioactive leak at a Japanese facility is being secretly manufactured in the Rolls-Royce plant in Derby.

Highly enriched uranium fuel is processed at the factory for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) - although this has never before been disclosed and the local population has not been told because the work is classified. They are only aware that the factory makes engines for Trident nuclear submarines.

Leaked company documents reveal that there is a risk of a "criticality accident" - the chain reaction which caused the nuclear disaster at a fuel manufacturing plant in Tokaimura last month. It has also emerged that after a safety exercise at the plant this year, inspectors concluded that it was "unable to demonstrate adequate contamination control arrangements". There is still no public emergency plan in case of disaster.

"I can't believe that they make nuclear fuel in Derby and don't have an off-site public emergency plan," said a nuclear safety expert who has visited the plant. "Even in Plymouth where they [the MoD] load the uranium fuel into the submarines, they have a publicised plan for the local population."

In the Tokaimura disaster two weeks ago, clouds of deadly radiation poured out from a nuclear fuel plant after a nuclear fission chain reaction. Most nuclear plants in Britain use fuel containing about 3% uranium 235, but in the Tokaimura incident it was about 20%, which was a contributory factor for the chain reaction.

In Derby the fuel is potentially even more unstable, containing more than 90% uranium 235. Rolls-Royce has always said that its marine power division at Raynesway, Derby, makes propulsion systems for nuclear submarines. It has never previously admitted processing the uranium fuel. (S.T.)

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