SELLAFIELD Ltd has agreed to implement safety improvements after a string of incidents on site - including one in which a worker was hospitalised for weeks with electricity burns.

The so-called electrical safety 'improvement notice' was served in December 2020.

One of the electrical safety incidents saw a worker sustain serious injuries in April 2020 as he carried out work on high voltage equipment at an electrical substation on the site.

The man sustained 15-20 percent burns and remained in hospital for several weeks.

Superintending Inspector Kulvinder McDonald, from the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), said: "Sellafield Ltd has responded well to the improvement notice, and we are satisfied that the electrical safety improvement programme they have introduced has addressed the shortfalls identified by my team of inspectors.

"My team will continue to closely monitor Sellafield Ltd’s performance in this area to ensure that the improvements are maintained, and we will have no hesitation in taking action if further shortfalls are identified."

Sellafield was fined £320,000 for the incident listed above for failing to comply to the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

The company has now complied with the improvement notice by the deadline set by ONR.

They have taken steps to improve electrical safety across the site, with significant improvements made to the training and supervision of staff who carry out electrical work, which the ONR considered to be root cause factors.

Improvements have also been made to their electrical tools and test equipment, electrical instructions and to the electrical safety rules and guidance.

The incidents that led to the issuing of this improvement notice were all related to electrical safety, and the ONR stressed that these events did not pose any radiological risk to workers or the public.

The ONR is the UK’s independent nuclear regulator for safety, security and safeguards in Great Britain, including the design and construction of new nuclear facilities.