Europe’s most hazardous nuclear site, which is in Cumbria, has a leak that’s getting worse and may threaten the public. Leaked official documents show that Sellafield’s board members were warned in November 2022 of the “cumulative risk” of nuclear security failings.

A Guardian investigation has revealed that there are cracks in a toxic sludge reservoir known as a B30, as well as in the concrete and asphalt layer covering a huge pond containing decades of nuclear sludge. The publication alleges that these physical issues are part of a slew of problems at the ailing nuclear site.

Sellafield contains the nuclear waste generated during Britain’s efforts to get atomic weapons and has been branded far more dangerous than Chernobyl in Ukraine, due to having significantly more radioactive material present.

The Chernobyl disaster in 1986 saw nuclear contamination across vast swathes of Europe, however forecasts suggest that an accident at Sellafield would be far worse. In particular Norway would bear the brunt of any catastrophe, and unsurprisingly the issue has been thorny between the UK and its Scandinavian ally.

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The leak from the failing building at the mammoth Cumbrian site known as the Magnox swarf storage Silo (MSSS) is expected to continue until 2050. The official document said the leak may have “potentially significant consequences” if it continues to worsen, risking contaminating groundwater.

Sellafield is a giant site, measuring in at two square miles in the Cumbrian countryside and employing 11,000 people. A spokesperson for Sellafield said: “We are proud of our safety record at Sellafield and we are always striving to improve. The nature of our site means that until we complete our mission, our highest hazard facilities will always pose a risk.

“We continuously measure and report on nuclear, radiological, and conventional safety. Employees are empowered to raise issues and challenge when things aren’t right.”

The Guardian also claimed previously that the site may have been hacked by China and Russia. It is reported that the first breach was detected around 2015. It is claimed that sleeper malware may have been installed within Sellafield’s network.

The publication also claims there is also a possibility that foreign hackers accessed highly confidential data. Due to Sellafield’s apparent failure to inform nuclear regulators for years, the full extent of data loss and ongoing risks is hard to determine.

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Disputing the claims, a Sellafield spokesperson said: “There hasn’t been a successful attack on our networks by state or non-state actors. Our monitoring systems are robust and we have a high degree of confidence that no such malware exists on our system.

“This was confirmed to the Guardian well in advance of publication, along with rebuttals to a number of other inaccuracies in their reporting. We have asked the Guardian to provide evidence related to this alleged attack so we can investigate. They have failed to provide this.

“We take cyber security extremely seriously at Sellafield. All of our systems and servers have multiple layers of protection. Critical networks that enable us to operate safely are isolated from our general IT network, meaning an attack on our IT system would not penetrate these.”

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