Sellafield workers had to evacuate when their air supply failed, says the regulator Sellafield workers evacuated after air supply failed, regulator's report says
Marra Mode is how your mate would tell you down the pub over a pint. Switch it off for the straight version.
The nuclear regulator's latest Sellafield report lists an emergency evacuation when a breathing-air compressor and its backup both failed, plus several other near misses. No injuries or contamination are reported.
If you work at Sellafield, or someone in your house does, or you just like to know what the regulator's saying about the site, this one's for you.
The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) has put out its latest Sellafield report, covering April to September 2026. It lists a handful of safety concerns and near misses, and some have led to enforcement.
The newest was in September. A mobile breathing-air compressor failed while people were working in an air-fed suit, and the backup air supply failed too. The operators did an emergency evacuation. The ONR says Sellafield has stopped using mobile breathing-air compressors while it investigates, and the regulator is still working with the company on improvements.
Back in June, heavy lead shielding blocks dropped about six metres at the Highly Active Liquor Evaporation and Storage facility when a retaining bracket gave way. Nobody was hurt and there were no radiological consequences, but the ONR said there was a "credible potential for serious injury to workers". It sent an enforcement letter over who's responsible for the area and how it's inspected and maintained.
In September a can of special nuclear material turned out to be damaged while it was being retrieved. The ONR says the inner containment was fine, so nothing got out and no operators were contaminated. That investigation is still open.
And in April a steel crane rope fell from height at Encapsulation Product Store 1 with workers close by. No injuries and no nuclear safety risk, but the ONR served an Improvement Notice, saying the supervisors of maintenance work didn't have enough training and experience. There was also a June incident where a trailer carrying an unloaded radioactive-waste flask was moved unsafely.
The ONR publishes these reports itself, and its Sellafield pages carry the findings and notices.
The Office for Nuclear Regulation's latest report on Sellafield covers April to September 2026 and lists an emergency evacuation, falling lead blocks and a damaged container. It reports no injuries and no contamination in the cases described.
This is for Sellafield staff and families, and for anyone in West Cumbria who wants to know how the site's safety is being checked.
The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) has published its latest report on Sellafield, covering April to September 2026. It details several safety concerns and near misses, and the regulator has taken enforcement action on some of them.
The most recent was in September, when Sellafield Ltd reported that a mobile breathing-air compressor failed during work involving an air-fed suit entry. The backup air supply also failed, and the operators carried out an emergency evacuation. The ONR said Sellafield suspended the use of mobile breathing-air compressors while it investigated, and that it is continuing to engage with the company as it implements improvement actions.
In June, heavy lead shielding blocks fell about six metres at the Highly Active Liquor Evaporation and Storage facility after a retaining bracket failed. The ONR said there were no injuries or radiological consequences, but there was a "credible potential for serious injury to workers", and it issued an enforcement letter over concerns about who was responsible for the area and how it was inspected and maintained.
In September a can holding special nuclear material was found damaged during retrieval. The ONR said there was no damage to the internal containment, so nothing was released and no operators were contaminated. An investigation is continuing.
In April a steel crane rope fell from height at Encapsulation Product Store 1 while workers were nearby. There were no injuries and no nuclear safety risk, but the ONR served an Improvement Notice because supervisors of maintenance work did not have enough training and experience. A separate June incident involved a trailer carrying an unloaded radioactive-waste flask being moved unsafely.
Reports like this are published by the regulator. The ONR's own pages carry its Sellafield findings and notices.