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Sellafield nuclear site partially evacuated after hazardous chemicals discovered

The losses could hit plans for a £10 billion power plant at Moorside in Cumbria (pictured): Owen Humphreys/PA
The losses could hit plans for a £10 billion power plant at Moorside in Cumbria (pictured): Owen Humphreys/PA

A bomb disposal squad was sent in to a defunct nuclear power plant at Sellafield after a routine inspection discovered hazardous chemicals on the site.

During a routine inspection of chemical substances stored at Sellafield, a small amount of organic peroxide, a flammable and explosive material, was found.

The substance was being stored in the site's Magnox Reprocessing Plant, which was evacuated after the hazardous chemicals were discovered on Thursday.

A statement from Sellafield said the plant is non-operational while the chemicals are being dealt with.

"The storage area is safely segregated from the nuclear operations of the plant and the risk has been identified as a conventional safety issue rather than a nuclear safety risk.

"As a precautionary measure, a controlled evacuation of the Magnox Reprocessing Plant was carried out yesterday in order to investigate the chemical and devise the appropriate course of action.

"The plant was non-operational at the time. The plant will remain non-operational while the chemical is disposed of."

Sellafield no longer generates nuclear power. Instead, the site focuses on nuclear waste storage and nuclear decommmissioning.