It has emerged that the leader of England’s largest nuclear waste dump is leaving.
According to The Guardian, Mark Neate, Sellafield’s director of safety and security, will be leaving at the end of this year. He would report to the site’s interim director-general, Euan Hutton.
The Cumbria-based nuclear waste and decommissioning site is the world’s largest store of plutonium. But a year-long investigation from the newspaper found a “toxic” working culture as well as multiple safety and cybersecurity failings.
Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho called the reports “deeply troubling” and has now demanded a “full explanation” from the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA).
The NDA is a public framework that ultimately controls the Sellafield site.
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NDA executive leader David Peattie said last month that there had been “necessary adjustments in cyber leadership, governance and threat management. “He said the duty of his cyber service had now been transferred.
A new cybersecurity chief is expected to take office later this month, The Guardian reports. Peattie says this would ensure “sustained leadership on this issue. “
Sellafield said Neate had responsibility for cybersecurity operation until January last year. This is when control was shifted to its chief information officer.
The Guardian claims that the site has not specified whether Neate’s departure is due to cybersecurity and protection failures, or if he decided to leave. The newspaper claims, however, that this is related to the glitches.
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Sellafield claims that the director will remain in the role for “several more months,” the publication reports. He said he is leaving after a “career committed to ensuring the safety and security of Sellafield and its workforce. “
Neate told The Guardian: “I took stock at the end of the summer break and at the end 2024 was the perfect time to move on. »
Neate joined Sellafield in 2012 and has held various roles since then, adding Director of Security and Resilience. Previously, he worked in the Army, adding as a strategist in the Iraq War and in the U. S. Army. U. S.
In a 2022 interview, he said he was proud of Sellafield’s security record. He said: “If we sneeze here the whole industry gets a cold. I do see it as fun.”
According to annual accounts for the year ending March 2023, Sellafield as “more work to do” to reduce safety incidents. Accounts, the Guardian reports, showed an annual operating cost of £2.5bn, a £170m increase to the public purse.
Reportedly, in the last fiscal year, the company pleaded guilty to a fitness and protection lawsuit filed with the Nuclear Regulatory Authority after a worker was injured by falling from a scaffolding ladder while performing repair work. He was fined £400,000 and ordered to pay £29,210. on prices and a £190 surcharge.
The GMB union suggested the government and nuclear government take action to address safeguarding issues. The company, which employs 11,000 people, has also been placed under special measures.
A spokesperson for Sellafield said: “Mark Neate has made the decision to leave Sellafield after a decade of service as Director of Environment, Safety and Security.
“Mark has brought meaning to Sellafield over the last decade, adding to the role he has played in managing our reaction to the Covid crisis, and we are not happy to see him go.
“He made the decision in autumn last year to leave the company, and will continue in his role to ensure a smooth transition to his successor.”
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