What is Sellafield?
'''Sellafield''', formerly known as '''Windscale''', is a large [[nuclear]] site on the coast of [[Cumbria]], England. Now it mostly does [[nuclear waste]] processing and storage and nuclear [[decommissioning]]. It used to be a [[nuclear power plant]] from 1956 to 2003, and nuclear fuel [[reprocessing]] from 1952 to 2022. It is a big place, 265 hectares (650 acres), and has more than 200 nuclear facilities and more than 1,000 buildings.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Job done: Sellafield plant safely completes its mission|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/job-done-sellafield-plant-safely-completes-its-mission|access-date=2023-03-23|website=GOV.UK|language=en}}</ref> ==Incidents== ===Leak that became public in 2023=== In December 2023, media wrote about a leak from a [[silo]] of [[radioactive waste]].<ref name=2023Leak>{{Cite news |last=Isaac |first=Anna |last2=Lawson |first2=Alex |date=2023-12-05 |title=Revealed: Sellafield nuclear site has leak that could pose risk to public |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/dec/05/sellafield-nuclear-site-leak-could-pose-risk-to-public |access-date=2023-12-05 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> The leak has been known since 2019, according to [[Astrid Liland|a middle manager]] at [[Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority]];<ref>https://www.vg.no/nyheter/utenriks/i/veRMGV/dsa-ble-overrasket-deltok-i-hastemoete-om-the-guardian-artikkel. Retrieved 2023-12-16</ref> Furthermore, some radioactive water is leaking thru a crack in the silo; Furthermore, she says (in 2023) that the leak is not dangerous for Norway, and it has no [[consequence]] for Norway. [[File:261102792.jpg.gallery.jpg|thumb|The Magnox Swarf Storage silo, at the Sellafield Site.]] The silo in question is the [[Magnox swarf storage silo]].<ref name=2023Leak /> ==References== {{reflist}} [[Category:Nuclear power stations in the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Buildings and structures in Cumbria]]