An improvement notice has been issued to Sellafield Ltd after an incident in April.
Contractors at the West Cumbrian nuclear complex, operating under the supervision of Sellafield Ltd, were replacing steel ropes on an overhead crane when the ropes became loose and fell to the ground.
No workers were injured and there was no radiological risk, but the Office for Nuclear Regulation said the incident had the potential to cause more serious harm to workers.
It issued the notice as a result because of the contraventions of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations Act, in relation to the provision of health and safety assistance (specifically, supervision).
A Sellafield Ltd spokesman said: “During maintenance to a crane in our Encapsulated Product store in April 2025, a rope lowered off the crane in an uncontrolled manner.
“While no one was injured and there were no radiological risks we take any incident that has the potential to cause harm extremely seriously.
“We have already introduced a number of improvements including a review of our control and supervision arrangements and additional training for supervisors and contractors.
“We will continue to work with our regulator to respond to the notice and further improve our arrangements.”
Sellafield Ltd has until November 13 to comply with the requirements of the notice, which include improvements to make sure that supervisors for maintenance activities have sufficient training, experience and knowledge to carry out the work.
