The operators of Sellafield nuclear plant in the UK say there is no risk to the general public or workforce, after non-essential staff at site in Cumbria were asked to stay at home due to elevated radiation levels.
The cause of the higher reading is being investigated. It follows the detection of elevated levels of radioactivity at one of the on-site radiation monitors at the north end of the site.
A statement said "As a result of a conservative and prudent decision, the Sellafield site is operating normally but with reduced manning levels today. This follows the detection of elevated levels of radioactivity at one of the on-site radiation monitors at the north end of the site".
"Essential workers only are being asked to report for work. Levels of radioactivity detected are above naturally occurring radiation but well below that which would call for any actions to be taken by the workforce on or off the site" it added.
It says that all facilities have positively confirmed there are "no abnormal conditions and are operating normally".
A 2012 report by the National Audit Office in Britain said some facilities at the 68-year-old site had "deteriorated so much that their contents pose significant risks to people and the environment".
Sellafield is the largest and most hazardous nuclear site in the UK, and stores enough high and intermediate level radioactive waste to fill 27 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
The cost of cleaning up the waste at Sellafield has been put at €82 billion (stg£67.5).
In 1957, the worst nuclear disaster in Britain also occurred at the site, when one of the nuclear reactors caught fire releasing radioactive material that spread across the UK and Europe.
