BNFL faces U.S. safety probe

U.S Energy Secretary Bill Richardson wants a team of investigators to look into safety standards at state-owned British Nuclear Fuels according to reports.

Any such move would threaten plans for the sell off if 49 per cent in the company for £1.5 bn.

Last month safety watchdogs detailed how "systematic management failure" at the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant had led to a lax safety culture which allowed some staff to make up data on certain consigments sent to Japan and Germany.

Mr Richardson said he was "uneasy" about BNFL's operations in America after company workers at the Sellafield plant falsified safety data rather than carry out arduous tests.

"We are now placing BNFL under extra scrutiny because of these problems." Richardson added.

Germany and Japan banned the use of BNFL's nuclear fuel in their power stations.

BNFL's newly-appointed chief executive Norman Askew has his work cut out for him if he is to partially float the company as planned before the end of the current parliament, which could run until May 2002.

Askew replaced John Taylor who resigned over the safety scandal.

BNFL has at least five U.S. contracts worth about £6.2bn to clean up after nuclear weapons manufacture.