Sellafield organ removal inquiry launched

An official inquiry has been launched to investigate claims that body parts were removed from 65 deceased Sellafield workers, Alistair Darling, the Trade and Industry Secretary, announced.

The Prospect union claims vital organs of nuclear workers who had died of cancer were removed without their families’ knowledge.

British Nuclear Fuels, which manages the site, said there were 65 known cases of samples being taken from deceased workers at Sellafield for “legally correct” purposes between the 1960s and the early 1990s.

Although it can prove consent or instruction for 61, the company said that in four remaining cases there was no record of either, but that did not necessarily mean that permission had not been sought.

A spokesman for BNFL said: “This is an historic issue, not a current one. However, our prime concern is the feelings of the families of those involved.

“An examination of the data has shown that in 56 of those cases the sampling was done associated with coroners’ post mortems or inquests.

“In five other cases it was done under instruction from other legally correct bases, such as family solicitors. For the remaining four cases there is no record of instruction or consent on file although this does not mean that appropriate requests were not made.”

Mr Darling told MPs he had asked Michael Redfern, QC, who conducted the Alder Hey Children’s Hospital inquiry in Liverpool, to establish the facts. In Alder Hey, organs were harvested from the bodies of more than 850 babies who died between 1988 and 1996 without the knowledge or consent of families.

He said that BNFL had so far identified 65 cases in which tissue was taken from individuals and then analysed for “the radionuclide content of organs”.

Mr Darling said because of the “limited nature” of the records held by BNFL, it was “not clear” what procedures were followed with regard to gaining consent from relatives in every case.

BNFL, which acts on behalf of the site owner, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, said that details came to light after the Westlakes Research Institute, an organisation involved in the regeneration of West Cumbria, asked for historic research data to be re-examined by the Westlakes/NDA Research Governance Group for a new study.
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A BNFL spokesman added: “Tissue samples waiting to be analysed were stored appropriately, on occasions for several months, however the samples were destroyed by the actual analysis process. There is no tissue stored on site today and the practice of taking samples for radiological analysis ceased in 1992.”

In a letter to BNFL, Paul Noon, the general secretary of Prospect union, said “We don’t want to rush to judgment but we do want the facts. Removal of organs from deceased radiation workers without consent would be ethically, morally and possibly legally wrong. Whatever the motives it should not have happened.

“The Government should organise an independent inquiry into these events, overseen by an outside, independent figure. The issue must be treated in an open and transparent way to protect the interests of the affected families and employees across the nuclear industry.”

Mike Graham, the union’s official in the North West, said: “This is a traumatic time for all concerned and the families need to have certainty and closure.”Claims that body parts of nuclear workers were removed without their families’ knowledge are to be investigated.”

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