Sinn Féin MLA Chris Hazzard has called on the British Government to close the Sellafield Nuclear power plant claiming it is obvious that there no strategy to manage it safely after it was announced that over £67bn has been spent dealing with nuclear waste yet serious contamination remains.

Mr Hazzard said: "It is becoming more and more obvious that the management of the entire Sellafield site is haphazard to say the least after the latest report into managing nuclear waste.

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"Over £67bn has so far been spent in attempting to deal with the nuclear waste in a safe way yet this has not been achieved. The entire site and surrounding areas continue to be contaminated with nuclear waste posing a severe health risk to people and the environment.

"What is particularly worrying is that the report actually states that there is no prospect of bringing the waste management under control in the foreseeable future.

"It is no coincidence that South Down has one of the highest rates of cancer on the island of Ireland given the proximity to Sellafield and I am calling on the British Government to close this site immediately as it is obvious that waste control is totally ineffective."

(CD)