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Archbishop visits Sellafield
The Archbishop of York, the Most Revd and Rt Hon Dr John Sentamu, accompanied by the Bishop of Carlisle, Rt Revd Graham Dow, and the Bishop of Penrith, the Rt Revd James Newcome, made a visit to Sellafield on Friday 19 May. This was the Archbishop\'s first visit to the Church of England Diocese of Carlisle, in which Sellafield is situated.
The aim of the visit was to familiarise the Archbishop with Sellafield, the nuclear industry and the socio-economic issues connected with West Cumbria.
The Archbishop visited the Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant (Thorp) and the Waste Monitoring and Compaction plant, followed by lunch and discussions with several of Sellafield\'s senior managers, Copeland MP Jamie Reed, as well as representatives from Trade and Staff Side Unions, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Sellafield Chaplains, church leaders and local church representatives.
Engineering and Technical Superintendent for Clean-up, Grant Gilmour, accompanied the visit throughout and spoke of the Archbishop\'s enthusiasm and interest: "I am extremely grateful to the Bishop of Carlisle, the Rt Revd Graham Dow, for arranging the visit with myself and to those who participated in an open and constructive discussion. I am always pleased when people as influential as the Archbishop come to the site and develop their opinions first hand on the nuclear debate."
Speaking on his visit, the Archbishop said that he had been particularly impressed by the commitment of the workforce and how proud they were of their industry, something which he said needs to be given greater recognition. He added: "The workers at Sellafield are confident about the future of their industry, which is quite rare today. I think there needs to be more confidence about nuclear technology and the jobs that it provides."
