Tackling Sellafield’s challenges needs better investment model and workplace culture, says Prospect

Decommissioning work at Sellafield is still too slow and not enough progress has been in addressing some of the most hazardous sites, says a new House of Commons Public Accounts Committee report.

Sellafield

The report also concludes that the organisation needs to work much harder to create a workplace culture where staff can raise their concerns and report bad behaviour.

Commenting on the Public Accounts Committee report, Sue Ferns, Prospect Senior Deputy General Secretary, said:

“Sellafield plays an important role in the critical national project of safely processing our nuclear waste, and the staff who work there do vital work on behalf of the nation.

“Nobody knows the challenges Sellafield faces more than the staff on site, and Prospect has been working with the company to try to tackle some of the issues highlighted in this report.

“The Committee is right to argue that vital projects such as the Geological Disposal Facility are key to improving outcomes in nuclear waste disposal, however the short-termist funding model for nuclear decommissioning has often meant that such projects are pushed to the right because of cuts. If we want to see a step change in progress in this area, we need to rethink the way we fund this work to incentivise the best long term investments.”

Download the full Public Accounts Committee report.