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Released October 08, 2014 | GALWAY, IRELAND
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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) - EDF Energy (London, England) is playing down fears that cracks found in some graphite bricks at its Hunterston B nuclear power plant in the U.K. pose any safety risk to the public.
During a major planned service and maintenance operation, cracks were found in a couple of the 6,000 bricks that make up one of the two reactors at Hunterston B, located in North Ayrshire, Scotland. The company has come under pressure from the Scottish government in recent days to explain the occurrence, especially in light of EDF announcing the sudden shutdown of four reactors in August after a fault was discovered at a boiler spine at Unit 1 of its Heysham 1 nuclear power plant in Lancashire, England.
As a precaution, the company shut another reactor at Heysham, as well as two reactors at the Hartlepool nuclear power plant in County Durham, in northeastern England, for further inspections. For additional information, see August 12, 2014, article - EDF Shuts Four U.K. Nuclear Reactors.
Scotland's Deputy First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said the situation at Hunterston was "hugely concerning" and added: "The Scottish government is seeking the information we need to assure the public about safety, because safety is absolutely paramount and cannot be compromised."
Industrial Info reported that Hunterston B was taken offline for one of its biggest service and maintenance overhauls in early August, with an expected return to service this month. For additional information, see August 11, 2014, article - Hunterston B Nuclear Plant Begins Overhaul.
"Every time we take the reactor out of service for planned maintenance, we inspect the graphite core which is made up of around 6,000 bricks," said Colin Weir, Station Director at Hunterston B. "During the current Hunterston outage, we found two bricks with a new crack, which is what we predicted during Hunterston B's lifetime as a result of extensive research and modelling. It will not affect the operation of this reactor and we also expect that a few additional cracks will occur during the next period of operation. The small number of cracked bricks found during routine inspection is in line with our expectations; the findings have no safety implications, and are well within any limits for safe operation agreed with our regulator."
Last week, the U.K.'s Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) made no reference to the cracks when it gave permission to EDF to restart the Hunterston B plant sometime today, October 8.
ONR said: "Periodic shutdowns are carried out every three years at each reactor at Hunterston B, providing the opportunity to undertake such activities. On completion of a periodic shutdown the reactor concerned cannot be started up without Consent from ONR. ONR specialists have completed their inspections of the work carried out are satisfied that the licensees justification to start-up the reactor and operate for a further period of three years is adequate".
Hunterston B began operations in 1976 and is set to close in 2016. However, EDF wants to extend its life to 2023 and beyond.
View Plan Profile - 1078439
View Project Report - 300084758
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and nine international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. To contact an office in your area, visit the Industrial Info "Contact Us" page.
During a major planned service and maintenance operation, cracks were found in a couple of the 6,000 bricks that make up one of the two reactors at Hunterston B, located in North Ayrshire, Scotland. The company has come under pressure from the Scottish government in recent days to explain the occurrence, especially in light of EDF announcing the sudden shutdown of four reactors in August after a fault was discovered at a boiler spine at Unit 1 of its Heysham 1 nuclear power plant in Lancashire, England.
As a precaution, the company shut another reactor at Heysham, as well as two reactors at the Hartlepool nuclear power plant in County Durham, in northeastern England, for further inspections. For additional information, see August 12, 2014, article - EDF Shuts Four U.K. Nuclear Reactors.
Scotland's Deputy First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said the situation at Hunterston was "hugely concerning" and added: "The Scottish government is seeking the information we need to assure the public about safety, because safety is absolutely paramount and cannot be compromised."
Industrial Info reported that Hunterston B was taken offline for one of its biggest service and maintenance overhauls in early August, with an expected return to service this month. For additional information, see August 11, 2014, article - Hunterston B Nuclear Plant Begins Overhaul.
"Every time we take the reactor out of service for planned maintenance, we inspect the graphite core which is made up of around 6,000 bricks," said Colin Weir, Station Director at Hunterston B. "During the current Hunterston outage, we found two bricks with a new crack, which is what we predicted during Hunterston B's lifetime as a result of extensive research and modelling. It will not affect the operation of this reactor and we also expect that a few additional cracks will occur during the next period of operation. The small number of cracked bricks found during routine inspection is in line with our expectations; the findings have no safety implications, and are well within any limits for safe operation agreed with our regulator."
Last week, the U.K.'s Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) made no reference to the cracks when it gave permission to EDF to restart the Hunterston B plant sometime today, October 8.
ONR said: "Periodic shutdowns are carried out every three years at each reactor at Hunterston B, providing the opportunity to undertake such activities. On completion of a periodic shutdown the reactor concerned cannot be started up without Consent from ONR. ONR specialists have completed their inspections of the work carried out are satisfied that the licensees justification to start-up the reactor and operate for a further period of three years is adequate".
Hunterston B began operations in 1976 and is set to close in 2016. However, EDF wants to extend its life to 2023 and beyond.
View Plan Profile - 1078439
View Project Report - 300084758
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and nine international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. To contact an office in your area, visit the Industrial Info "Contact Us" page.
