BNFL Suspends Staff in Lewd E-Mail Inquiry

January 29, 2001

BNFL has launched an investigation into claims that workers have been sending lewd e-mail messages to each other at Sellafield, Cumbria.

The company has revealed it is investigating nine cases in which its strict e-mail policy has allegedly been breached.

The suspect e-mails, believe to centre around offensively-altered images of cartoon characters including Bart Simpson, were found during a site-wide investigation.

Three of the workers, who work directly for BNFL - the others are contractors - are believed to have been suspended pending hearings.

BNFL has the sanction to sack staff for misconduct. It warned workers: "BNFL has clear guidelines on the appropriate use of e-mail systems and the Internet... the guidelines do make it clear that abuse of the system will not be tolerated and could result in disciplinary action.

"We expect all our employees to abide by the guidelines and to understand the consequences for themselves and the company of wilful abuse."

The latest row comes just months after BNFL issued a set of strict guidelines relating to safety, quality, general operational compliance and personal behaviour at Sellafield.

In December BNFL's zero tolerance attitude was strengthened when it announced a random drink testing policy.