EDF says the closed reactor at the Hunterston B power plant will only be restarted if safe. The French energy giant has reassured the public that safety is its top priority after a Daily Mail story published over the weekend suggested restarting the cracked nuclear reactor could contaminate Edinburgh and Glasgow with radiation. Nuclear energy commentators told the newspaper that a meltdown at EDF Energy’s Hunterston B power plant in North Ayrshire was unlikely but possible if the reactor was restarted. Nearly 400 cracks in one of the facility’s reactor core’s graphite bricks were found in March last year, leading to the closure of the plant in October – although cracks developing is normal, the amount recorded exceeded current guidelines on limits. The rest of the site’s reactors remained below the Office for Nuclear Regulation’s (ONR) upper safety limit of 350 cracks. Owner EDF Energy would like to restart generation at the power plant with a new limit of 700 cracks, a view which has been supported by GMB Union.
Energy Live News 10th June 2019 read more »