Britain's government on Wednesday said it planned to shut part of a nuclear plant in Sellafield, northern England, as soon as possible and on commercial grounds following Japan's nuclear disaster. Unions hit out at the decision to close the Sellafield MOX Plant, which employs 800 people. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, which implements government policy on the management of nuclear waste, said the facility would be closed to ensure taxpayers did not "carry a future financial burden." A statement added: "The NDA Board has now assessed the changed risk profile for SMP arising from potential delays following the earthquake in Japan" and "the only reasonable course of action is to close SMP at the earliest practical opportunity." The Prospect union, which represents workers in the nuclear industry, said "the closure decision was thought to have been influenced by the lack of funding available from Japanese government contracts, following the earthquake and tsunami that shut down the Fukushima 1 nuclear reactor in March." It added in a statement that the facility takes plutonium that has been reprocessed from spent nuclear fuel at Sellafield's THORP plant, and recycles it into 'mixed oxide fuel,' which can be reused to fuel nuclear reactors. Kevin Coyne of the Unite union said the decision was "shocking and frankly bizarre". "The government is currently deciding whether to give the go-ahead for building a new MOX plant. So where is the rationale in closing the current one now?" he said. Sellafield lies on the Irish Sea coast in Cumbria, northwest England. Britain's chief nuclear inspector said in May that Britain's nuclear plants were not at risk from the kind of natural disaster that caused Japan's crisis and could continue to operate as normal. The British government is planning a new series of nuclear reactors on existing sites to maintain electricity supplies and cut greenhouse gas emissions as an old generation of power stations are phased out.
GMT 10:54 2018 Sunday ,02 December
Egypt wins membership of World Water Council board of governorsGMT 13:57 2018 Thursday ,29 November
UN weather agency: 2018 is fourth hottest year on recordGMT 12:50 2018 Saturday ,27 October
Tsunami alert issued for Mediterranean coast as earthquake strikes off GreeceGMT 12:32 2018 Friday ,26 October
6.5-magnitude quake hits western Greece, no casualties reportedGMT 16:06 2018 Wednesday ,10 October
Schools in southern Oman close ahead of cyclone in the Arabian SeaGMT 17:56 2018 Saturday ,06 October
Cyclone is expected to develop into a tropical storm at UAEGMT 13:37 2018 Thursday ,04 October
Madbouly signing ceremony of project to support adaptation to climate changeGMT 08:50 2018 Wednesday ,24 January
Tsunami warnings as powerful quake hits off AlaskaMaintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©
Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©
Send your comments
Your comment as a visitor