The MP for Huntingdon recently visited the site of one of the country’s most well-known former nuclear power stations.  

Jonathan Djanogly travelled to Sellafield, in Cumbria, in his capacity as a member of the Public Accounts Committee which is responsible for overseeing government expenditure.  

On their tour, the group were being advised on the issues surrounding nuclear decommissioning which is now among the site's key activities.  

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), a non-departmental public body of the UK government, now owns Sellafield.  

Its mission is to overcome the challenges of nuclear clean-up and decommissioning 17 of the country's earliest nuclear sites safely, securely and cost-effectively.  

Among NDA’s top priorities is the safe handling of material from one of Sellafield’s legacy ponds and silos, the Magnox Swarf Storage Silo (MSSS).   

Removing the waste from these silos began in 2022 and is considered to be one of the world’s most complex decommissioning challenges.   

Robots are now a familiar sight at Sellafield and Spot, a robot dog, for example, has various roles ranging from building and equipment inspections to waste sorting and segregation.  

The Hunts Post: Spot the robot dog has various roles ranging from building and equipment inspections to waste sorting and segregation at Sellafield.Spot the robot dog has various roles ranging from building and equipment inspections to waste sorting and segregation at Sellafield. (Image: Sellafield Ltd)During his tour, Mr Djanogly was shown the MSSS and the Pile 1 reactor, the birthplace of the country’s atomic programme and also where a fire broke out in 1957.   

He said: “The visit was informative and I was pleased to see that the NDA are working to reduce risk and ‘high hazard' at Sellafield.  

“In recent years significant milestones have been met in retrieving hazardous waste from its legacy ponds and silos.   

“The NDA has made progress with reducing these since we last reported.  

“However, Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, UK Government Investments, the NDA and Sellafield Limited have more work to do to measure, evaluate and communicate progress more effectively.”   

Mr Djanogly’s visit to Sellafield happened on October 30.