At Hinkley Point C in Somerset EDF's eyewateringly expensive brand spanking new nuclear reactor, the first of two, which already looks rusty with dodgy welds is lowered into place onto the grotesque mass of the largest pour of .concrete and steel nuclear site.
The reactor if it is ever fired up (a moment of no return which we urge people to campaign against) will be bombarded with more radiation for decades to come than any other reactors before it in an effort to 'get more' out of the nuclear fuel. The reactor becoming more and more brittle as time passes. The waste from this "high burn" fuel will be hotter than any nuclear wastes previously requiring more cooling. The plan is for this fuel - still enormously hot at temperatures up to and above 100 degrees c to be dumped in a deep geological facility aka nuclear dump. What impact this will have on already fractured and complex geology in Cumbria is anyone's guess. The nuclear industry and government guess that it will be "safe."
Popping with enthusiasm the Hinkley Point C managing director Stuart Crooks said: “This is an important moment, not just for the team at Hinkley Point C, but also for everyone who wants to see the UK deliver energy security, fight climate change and provide power for our AI and digital future. We are working hard to play our part and using the experience gained delivering the first reactor to drive efficiencies in building our second one. That experience will also benefit follow-on projects, such as Sizewell C, as well as boosting jobs and skills for the UK’s growth agenda.”
Comments