Fallout (RTÉ drama)

Fallout is a RTÉ two-part fictional drama, made in the style of a documentary.It deals with the nuclear fallout following a hypothetical disaster in the Sellafield Nuclear Reprocessing Plant in Cumbria on the British coast of the Irish Sea. The show suggests that Ireland would bear the brunt of the United Kingdom's accident.

The show has been denounced as "portraying Irish people as barbaric" [http://feeds.irelandnews.net/?rid=e6c341fe9d4593b2&cat=aba4168066a10b8d&f=1] by Dick Roche (the Irish Minister for the Environment). The accident scenario is considered outlandish. In addition, the Irish government are currently attempting through a court action to close the Sellafield nuclear plant; the topic of the programme may be regarded as being "sub judice".

When attempting to stem leaks found in the Sellafield facility, an explosion occurs. This sets off a further chain of explosions in the HAS tanks, resulting in the release of a highly radioactive plume. A north-easterly wind carries this radioactive material over the Irish Sea, which hits Ireland's eastern coast, particularly County Louth and the Dublin area (Ireland's main population centre) causing widespread chaos.

However, this is not a credible scenario (for Sellafield at least). While a detonation occurred in a Soviet fission product waste storage tank in 1957 [http://www.fas.org/news/russia/1995/fbust037_95011.htm] , this was due to the ignition of an acetate / nitrate mixture. At Sellafield no acetate or other chemical fuel is added to the liquid waste, which is stored in tanks for a short time before being converted to glass. The waste does not undergo any violent chemical reaction when it is dried out and heated with pyrex glass in a furnace.

Part One

Aired 23 April 2006.The first part focuses on the immediate aftermath of the incident and the implications which may arise for the Irish population. The plot is released in the style of "breaking news" (from both RTÉ News and BBC News 24) and as footage captured by a documentary crew and various camera phone video clips from eye-witnesses.

Part Two

Aired 24 April 2006. The second part is set a year later, dealing with more long-term repercussions such as the social and economic climate. The main characters are revisited and interviewed. [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0800286/ Imdb page]