Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant

Environment Minister Martin Cullen was meeting his UK government counterpart Brian Wilson on Wednesday to express his concerns about the site.

He is to press him on reports that a roof of the building was damaged and at risk of leaking.

It is claimed that a �100m package is needed to protect public safety at Sellafield and prevent a radioactive leak from the 50-year-old facility, which stores waste before it is released into the Irish Sea.

Newspaper reports said a confidential warning on the issue was sent by Sir John Harman, chairman of the Environment Agency, to Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett and Health Secretary Alan Milburn.

It also claimed that Sellafield operator British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) wants to increase dumping of stored radioactive chemical into the Irish Sea until 2007.

Water contamination

BNFL has said the building in question poses no immediate safety concerns.

The company said a replacement facility was not needed, but that action would be taken to remove the majority of radioactive material over the next few years.

Mr Cullen said he has asked Ireland's nuclear watchdog - the Irish Radiological Protection Institute (RPII) - to get involved.

The Irish government has campaigned for the closure of Sellafield and has started legal moves to stop it operating.

In early May, a study by the RPII claimed that radioactive discharge from Sellafield continued to be the dominant source of contamination in the Irish Sea.