ENGLAND: HSE ASKED FOR CLARIFICATION ON NUCLEAR POWER PLANT SAFETY

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The Celtic League is pressing the United Kingdom Nuclear Safety Directorate to clarify what steps have been taken to rectify safety deficiencies discovered in a number of nuclear power station

Cathal Ó Luain pour Celtic League le 26/11/08 13:43

The Celtic League is pressing the United Kingdom Nuclear Safety Directorate to clarify what steps have been taken to rectify safety deficiencies discovered in a number of nuclear power station reactors three years ago (see below):

"The Chief Officer HSE - Nuclear Safety Directorate 4N.1 Redgrave Court Merton Road Bootle L20 7HS

21 November 2008

Dear Sir

Documents widely publicised three years ago raised serious questions over the safety of Britain's ageing atomic power stations and it was suggested that many had developed major cracks in their reactor cores.

These safety assessments, obtained under Freedom of Information legislation, said that the Nuclear Safety Directorate (NSD) has issued warnings over the deterioration of reactor cores at a number of British nuclear plants. The NSD also criticised British Energy, which operates 13 advanced gas-cooled nuclear reactors.

Disturbingly, according to the papers, the company (BE) did not know the extent of the damage to the reactor cores, could not monitor their deterioration and did not fully understand why cracking had occurred. The report was further said to reveal that in June 2005, the NSD said it was faced with:

"significant regulatory issues ... for all operating AGR reactors".

Can you advise what steps the HSE/NSD have taken to address this situation?

Could you also advise which nuclear reactors still give cause for concern?

Has the damage to all reactor cores affected now been quantified and what steps are being taken to ensure that no reactors that pose risk are still operating?

Finally is the report referred to in the media available and also is any follow-up action arising from that report now in the public domain?

Yours sincerely,

J B Moffatt Director of Information"

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