The Last Magnox Nuclear Reactor is Shut Down in U.K.

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The last Magnox nuclear power plant in the world has been closed at the Wylfa Nuclear Power Station in Wales after more than 44 years of operation.

The closure by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) heralds the end of the first generation of nuclear power plant technology used in the U.K. Wylfa was the last and largest of a fleet of 11 plants based on the Magnox reactor design. The first Magnox plant, Calder Hall, was opened by the Queen in 1956, ushering in the atomic age for the U.K. The plant had a generating capacity of 190 megawatts (MW), enough to power 200,000 homes. When Wylfa was commissioned in 1971, it had a generating capacity of almost 1,000 MW from its two reactors, enough to power 40% of the households in Wales. At the time, it was the most powerful nuclear power station in the world.

"Today marks a safe and dignified end to the generation of electricity at Wylfa, and indeed for Magnox, and I am proud to say that I was a part of it," said site director Stuart Law.

The NDA Chief Executive John Clarke added: "I am proud of the team's innovative work which made this extended operational life possible, but the time has come to finally switch her off and move into the decommissioning phase."

Wylfa was originally due to shut in 2010 but was thrown a lifeline by the Inter-Reactor Fuel Transfer, or IRX process, which saw the transfer of partly used fuel from Reactor 2 to Reactor 1, allowing for a further five years of operation. The manufacture of Magnox fuel ceased in 2008.

The removal of fuel rods from Reactor 2 is underway and these are being dispatched to Sellafield for reprocessing. De-fuelling of Reactor 1 will begin during early summer 2016, with a target for the site to be fuel free by late 2018. Full-scale decommissioning will last several decades, the NDA confirmed.

In May last year Industrial Info reported that a new company--Cavendish Fluor Partnership (CFP)--which was formed to oversee the decommissioning of Magnox nuclear power sites, announced plans to cut up to 1,600 jobs. For additional information, see May 27, 2015, article - 1,600 Jobs to Go at Magnox Nuclear Sites in U.K..

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