Safety breaches at Sellafield have raised fears of a Chernobyl-style disaster.
Campaigners worry that incidents at Europe’s largest nuclear plant in Cumbria could lead to a blast bigger than the 1986 Ukraine horror.
An official report logs 25 breaches in less than two years, including burst pipes, unstable chemicals, radiation leaks, a cooling tower failure and two plant evacuations.
The bomb squad was called in last August after chemicals “changed state”.
Janine Allis-Smith, of a local anti-nuke group, says campaigners “fear an explosion that would make Chernobyl look like a tea party”.
Sellafield – which now splits spent nuclear fuel into plutonium, uranium and waste – said incident reports were published to reassure the public.
A Sellafield spokesman said “Sellafield is a safe site. Our workforce and supply chain work around the clock to ensure it stays that way.
“We are the most closely regulated nuclear site in the UK. Our regulator undertakes hundreds of inspections every year to ensure we meet the required standards of safety.
“We’re proud of our safety record, which is comparable and in some cases better than, similar high-risk industries.
“When incidents happen, we investigate them thoroughly and publish details on our website. We do this so people can scrutinise our performance and so we can learn from experience.
“We are never complacent about safety and we are always striving to do better.”
