A “nuclear laundry” serving Sellafield has been given retrospective planning permission to carry on amid safety warnings from an environmental campaigner.

Marianne Birkby, of pressure group Radiation Free Lakeland, objected to Energy Coast Laundry’s application for the Lillyhall industrial estate outside Workington

Winscales parish council has also “strongly” opposed the business’s continued operation amid claims the company was “flouting regulations” and “trying to get permission through the back door”.

But laundry bosses claimed the initial failure to apply for the proper planning permission was merely an “oversight”.

A meeting of Allerdale council’s planning panel heard yesterday that regulation of site operations was not a planning issue and that this was the Environment Agency’s responsibility.

The company has also moved to assure the public that the site deals only with “none active” basic clothing worn by Sellafield workers and contractors – and that stringent safety procedures are in place.

But activist Ms Birkby said she was “absolutely appalled” by officer recommendations that the laundry be allowed to carry on its operations, claiming some of the waste contained “carcinogenic” (cancer-causing elements).

Urging the planning panel to refuse the application, she said the laundry had been operating “in breach of planning” for almost a year and that local people had been denied a “fair chance” to comment on the plans.

She also claimed that Lillyhall was becoming a “nuclear ghetto”, citing the earlier creation of a landfill site for low-level nuclear waste as well as the opening of the Cyclife which recycles metals taken from nuclear sites.

Speaking about the nuclear laundry, she warned that “accidents will happen” and that “Sellafield doesn’t always get it right”.

She said that the laundry “must stay” on the Sellafield site, describing it as the source of an “unsustainable release of radioactive material” through the sewerage system.

She argued that there had been “no environmental impact assessment” dealing with the cumulative impact on the public water supply; or on food outlets, play facilities, workspaces and the nearby college.

But Jason Robinson, of Energy Coast Laundry, stressed that the safety procedures in place the laundry site were “stringent” and “followed to the letter”.

He said that the company worked with specialists from Nuvia and contractors from Sellafield, Mitie and Mitie to ensure that all the processes, including tests, were properly carried out.

He added that the company’s operations had been inspected by the Environment Agency since the submission of the application who found that “no actions” needed to be taken.

Mr Robinson also denied claims from Ms Birkby that Energy Coast Laundry was seeking to expands its operations and launder clothes from nuclear sites elsewhere in the UK.