Nuclear site in Britain closed partially

A nuclear reprocessing plant in Britain was partially closed on Friday following "the detection of elevated levels of radioactivity".

Plant operator Sellafield Ltd. said the site in Cumbria county would run at "reduced manning levels (Friday) today" after radioactivity readings exceeded naturally occurring levels, reported Xinhua. Sellafield said no evidence of a radioactive release or accident had been found, however, "there can be no guessing on nuclear sites". "Levels of radioactivity detected are above naturally occurring radiation but well below that which would call for any actions to be taken by the workforce on or off the site," the company said.

It said there was no risk to the public. "One of the 20-odd site perimeter monitors that we have is registering above normal levels of radiation. It's not a level that would trigger any kind of activity on or off site. It's below levels that would demand us to do sheltering or anything like that," said Rory O'Neill, director of stakeholder relations.

The authorities said they were in constant touch with the Sellafield. The plant, about 480 km from London, is the largest nuclear site in Britain. It has played a key role in Britain's nuclear industry. A fire broke out in one of the site's reactors in 1957, the worst nuclear accident in Britain.