BRITISH nuclear operators could face being sued for billions of pounds by potential Irish victims of radioactive damage following legal changes to be introduced this year.
Irish politicians and campaigners have long complained about the effects Britain’s civil nuclear programme is having on its shores – in particular on the safety record of Sellafield.
The Cumbria site is located less than 100 miles from the Irish coast with Greenpeace claiming that the dumping of liquid waste from Sellafield has made the Irish Sea among the most contaminated waters in the world.
Irish fishermen have also complained of catches of mutated fish.
However, Ireland has struggled, legaly, to clampdown on Britain's nuclear plant with a 2006 bid to force the closure of the nuclear site blocked by the European Union.
Now, however, legal experts say that Ireland's case will be hugely strengthened when amendments to the Paris Convention on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy come into force this year, having been originally proposed in 2004.
Irish fishermen have complained about catches of unsaleable fishIan Salter, an international legal expert in nuclear issues at the law company Burges Salmon, told the Independent: “If a country has no nuclear installations in it, then they will benefit from the changes. Someone in Ireland could bring a claim to a court in the UK in a way that they couldn't before.
"It is a much more straightforward process. This makes the situation much simpler for the victim and [it] could be used by a national state."
Irish anti-nuclear campaigner Brian Greene said: "These changes sound interesting and I would think that our government would be pursuing them."
Meanwhile Britain's nuclear activity is set be expanded, with a new fleet of power plants starting with Hinkley Point C in Somerset.
