Having come up through the ranks of the good old CEGB, I have not been as averse to nuclear power as many. However, a couple of things are really bothering me. One is the ridiculous guaranteed price being offered for Chinese/French built stations at Hinkley and (I expect) Sizewell and Bradwell, All this is being posited at a time when the renewables industry is having the rug pulled from under its feet.
The other is fuel storage and disposal, and site clean up. I have been reading about the mess at Sellafield and wonder whether for current and future reactors things are going to be much better. Sellafield was a rush job to provide weapons-grade material with the gloss of civil power plonked on top. This, not surprisingly, has resulted in a less than ideal situation. Consider, for instance:
> Pile no 1 where the infamous fire occurred in 1957. That's just sealed and is being left alone. Does anyone know what's going on inside?
> Pile fuel storage pond. A deteriorating concrete structure full of radioactive sludge. Sludge removal is underway - hopefully safely.
> Pile fuel cladding silo. Jammed with aluminium cladding from weapons reactors. Sealed since the mid-1960s but many worry about the potential for H2 build-up because of corrosion.
> Magnox spent fuel storage pond. Considered the most dangerous industrial building in Europe. It's open-air - and cracks have resulted in seepage into the surrounding soil. No-one knows exactly what's in there.
> Magnox swarf storage silo. The second most dangerous industrial building in Europe. Again seepage has occurred. And again there is an H2 build-up risk from corrosion.
OK - so for modern reactors we're not talking about aluminium or magnesium-based cladding. And disposal planning has to be better. But how much will you bet on it being adequate?
(I mentioned the CEGB at the start of this piece. Last year Dieter Helm published a nice little article suggesting that there is a phoenix rising from the ashes. It's worth a quick read).
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