British security experts warned that weapon-grade plutonium is stored inadequately at the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant, the London Observer reported Sunday (see GSN, Jan. 11).

The two buildings that contain more than 70 metric tons of plutonium are unable to resist a terrorist attack or “even a fire,” experts said.  “I have seen plans of this structure and it is not designed to withstand a major impact,” said nuclear engineer John Large.  “Its walls are very thin.” 

Security reports also showed that Sellafield is vulnerable to an attack from a hijacked airliner, according to the Observer.  An evaluation of flight paths over the facility showed that air traffic control operators would not be able to detect a diverted aircraft until it was four minutes away from the plant, which would be too late to scramble Royal Air Force fighter craft.

A security review board, made up of officials from MI5, the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate and the Atomic Energy Authority drafted the report in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, according to the Observer.  The reports recommended that the two storage buildings be rebuilt.  British Nuclear Fuels, which owns the Sellafield facility said last week security was under review but did not provide details (Nick Paton Walsh, London Observer, Jan. 20). 

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