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Old Nuclear

AGRs

Four of the UK’s ageing nuclear power reactors, currently closed for repairs, should not be allowed to restart, in order to protect public health, says a consortium of 40 local authorities in Britain and Ireland. The Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA), the local government voice on nuclear issues in the United Kingdom, then wants all the rest of the country’s 14 ageing advanced gas-cooled reactors (AGRs) shut down as soon as possible, with the power they produce replaced by renewables and a programme of energy efficiency. The four reactors they want closed immediately are two at Hunterston in Scotland and two at Hinkley Point B in Somerset in the West of England. Of the other five power stations (each with two reacttors) which the NFLA wants shut down as soon as possible, one is at Torness, also in Scotland. Three more are in the North of England – one at Hartlepool in County Durham and two at Heysham in Lancashire – and one at Dungeness in south-east England. To protect the jobs of those involved, the NFLA calls in its report on the future of the AGRs for a “Just Transition”: retraining for skilled workers, but also an accelerated decommissioning of the plants to use the nuclear skills of the existing workforce. The report details the dangers that the reactors, some more than 40 years old, pose to the public. Graphite blocks, which are vital for closing down the reactor in an emergency, are disintegrating because of constant radiation, and other plants are so corroded that pipework is judged dangerous. If the two Hunterston reactors were restarted and the graphite blocks failed, a worst-case accident would mean both Edinburgh and Glasgow would have to be evacuated, the report says.

Climate News Network 13th Aug 2020 read more »

The UK & Ireland Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA) publishes today a detailed report outlining the challenging problems besetting EDF’s existing Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) nuclear power plants like Hunterston and Hinkley Point B and argues that the entire AGR fleet is likely to close considerably earlier than the operator or the UK Government would like. This leaves real questions as to future UK energy policy requiring an even greater move towards decentralised and renewable energy alternatives. At present, EDF’s existing nuclear fleet of Advanced Gas Reactors covers reactors at Hunterston B, Hinkley Point B, Hartlepool, Heysham, Dungeness and Torness. All are due to end operations between 2023 and 2030, leaving just Sizewell B, a Pressurised Water Reactor, in operation.

NFLA 13th Aug 2020 read more »

The future of the AGR nuclear reactor fleet – to be closed sooner than expected by EDF?

NFLA 5th Aug 2020 read more »

AGRs

EDF Energy said on 7 August that it was once again extending the outages at the UK’s Dungeness and Hunterston NPPs. Dungeness B Reactor 22 was taken offline for pre-planned outages in August 2018 followed by Reactor 21 the following month. During during maintenance work, on the two 520 MWe AGR reactors, problems with the main steam line and with corrosion were discovered and later issues involving the site’s boilers. Inspection revealed that several systems providing a safety function were “corroded to an unacceptable condition”. The corrosion has been rated level 2 on the International Nuclear and Radiological Events Scale (INES).

Nuclear Engineering International 12th Aug 2020 read more »

Sizewell B

EDF will be paid between £55 million and £73 million for halving power output from Britain’s biggest nuclear reactor this summer under an agreement to prevent blackouts. National Grid, the company with the task of keeping Britain’s lights on, said that it had asked the French energy group to continue to limit generation from Sizewell B in Suffolk until late September. That is the maximum period negotiated in a contract that The Times revealed in May had been agreed to help to prevent the network being overwhelmed by excess power during the pandemic. Electricity demand dropped by as much as a fifth at the height of the lockdown and, although it is returning to normal levels, National Grid said that it was lower than expected and that there was a risk of a second wave that could suppress demand again. Keeping Sizewell operating at half-output enabled it to “prepare for such an event at minimal cost”. Juliet Davenport, of Good Energy, a renewable energy supplier, claimed that the contract was “evidence that inflexible, expensive nuclear power is not fit for the clean energy system we need”.

Times 8th Aug 2020 read more »

AGRs

EDF Energy prolongs outages at Dungeness and Hunterston units. The restarts of three advanced gas-cooled reactor (AGR) units at EDF’s Dungeness B and Hunterston B nuclear power plants in the UK have been postponed. Dungeness Reactor 22 and Reactor 21 were taken offline, respectively, on 27 August and 19 September, 2018 – for pre-planned outages. During that work, EDF uncovered issues to do with the main steam line and then corrosion. In recent months attention has been focused on issues to do with the site’s boilers. Restart dates were 11 September for Reactor 22 and 21 September for Reactor 21, but these were re-forecast yesterday as 10 December for Reactor 22 and 20 December for Reactor 21. Hunterston Reactor 3 and Reactor 4 were taken offline on 9 March and 3 October, 2018 to work on issues related to their graphite cores. Following the approval of a safety case with the ONR, Reactor 4 was returned to service on 25 August, 2019 until 10 December, 2019. Hunterston Reactor 3 had been due to restart on 20 August, but that has now changed to 30 August. The restart date for Reactor 4 remains 17 September.

World Nuclear News 7th Aug 2020 read more »

Sizewell B

EDF Energy has agreed to a request to reduce output from its Sizewell B nuclear plant in the east of England to help balance the grid amid low power demand due to COVID-19, the company told Reuters this week. As energy demand slumped across the world when countries shut industry and asked people to stay at home earlier this year, the National Grid ESO (Electricity System Operator) asked EDF to consider reducing output from its Sizewell B power station in Suffolk.

Reuters 6th Aug 2020 read more »

Hunterston

As outlined at the June meeting of the SSG, the safety cases for both Reactors 3 and 4 have been submitted to the ONR for their assessment. The ONR is continuing its assessment into the Hunterston B return to service case, using the information EDF has provided after extensive rounds of modelling and analysis. We have been in discussions with the Graphite Team on safety case progress and have concluded that the current trading dates for Reactor 3 needs to be pushed back 10 days to the 30 August. Reactor 4 – we aim to return the unit to service on 17 September 2020, there is no change to this date at present.

EDF Energy Letter to SSG 6th Aug 2020 read more »

Nuclear Accident

In the event of a severe accident at a nuclear power plant, the highly radioactive mixture of fuel and molten material can pierce the steel vessel of the reactor. Fine modeling of the thermochemical evolution of this mixture and analyzes of the mechanical resistance of the tank assess the conditions to be respected to avoid it.

Pour La Science 23rd July 2020 read more »

Radhealth

In a German group of workers dismantling nuclear facilities three incident cases of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (NHL) occurred at ages 46-52 years . The case report was published in the Zentralblatt für Arbeitsmedizin (occupational medicine) in the current edition of July 2020. The male workers developed the B-cell lymphoma after participating in the demolition of facilities, one of them producing nuclear fuel rods containing plutonium and uranium.

Open PR 4th Aug 2020 read more »

Magnox/Babcock

One of Britain’s main defence contractors has delivered more grim news for investors after axing its dividend for last year. Babcock said that it was cancelling the payout for the financial year that ended in March in an attempt to preserve cash. In June the company suspended the final dividend until it had “greater certainty” on the impact of the pandemic. Yesterday it laid bare the cost of the Covid-19 slump, revealing that underlying revenues in the three months to the end of June had fallen by 11 per cent. Underlying operating profit for the first quarter fell by 40 per cent from last year’s level. Babcock attributed half of the lost profits to a slide in productivity as the coronavirus outbreak forced it to change working practices. The remainder was down to the loss of a contract with Britain’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority to clean up 12 Magnox reactor sites and weakness in South Africa and at its land division. Shares in Babcock fell by 29p, or 10 per cent, to 260p last night.

Times 5th Aug 2020 read more »

Trawsfynydd

Trawsfynydd has been selected to lead on Magnox’s reactor decommissioning project in the UK in a move that could secure and create jobs. North Wales Live previously revealed proposed changes to nuclear decommissioning plans at Trawsfynydd that could retain jobs for additional years at the site. Now it has been confirmed the Gwynedd nuclear site has been selected for the project in a move that could secure employment in the area for the next two decades. Following a review of the historical strategy of deferring decommissioning at all Magnox reactor sites, the NDA and Magnox announced their intent to bring forward reactor decommissioning at Trawsfynydd Site. Angharad Rayner, Trawsfynydd Site Director, said: “This is really good news that can secure employment for the next two decades and could lead to further opportunities for local people in the future. “The opportunity to remove the reactors down to the ground is an exhilarating prospect that will be part of a technological showcase to fully decommission the first civil nuclear reactor in the UK.”

Daily Post 30th July 2020 read more »

Dwyfor Meirionnydd MP Liz Saville Roberts has welcomed the news that Trawsfynydd has been chosen as the site to lead Magnox’s reactor decommissioning project. The decision means jobs at the site will be safeguarded for decades. Mrs Saville Roberts said: “This is excellent news for Gwynedd – and, once the business case is finalised, can be anticipated to result in both safeguarding and increasing the number of well-paid and highly skilled decommissioning jobs at Trawsfynydd for the next 20 years. “I understand the number of posts on site could increase to around 250 during 2021. Every effort should be made to ensure local people can continue to benefit from these opportunities.

Cambrian News 30th July 2020 read more »

Business Live 30th July 2020 read more »

Under original plans, the twin reactor buildings that tower over the landscape were due to be reduced in height by two-thirds, and then left in a care and maintenance phase, before the site is completely cleared in 2083. The new programme will see the remaining reactor buildings demolished, while a new low-level radioactive waste store is built on the site to hold the material.

BBC 30th July 2020 read more »

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