U.K. Nuclear Plants Clear Final Safety Hurdle

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) --The U.K.'s nuclear fleet has been given the all-clear following the publication of the final report on the European Council "stress tests" for nuclear power plants.

The National Final Report, which has been published by the U.K.'s Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), stated that there are no "fundamental weaknesses" following safety tests undertaken at U.K. nuclear power stations after the nuclear disaster last March at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant in Japan. The U.K. was one of a number of European nuclear nations to suspend their nuclear power new-build plans while additional safety checks could be performed. Other nations, including Germany and Switzerland, took more drastic measures by deciding to ditch nuclear power altogether in the coming decade. For additional information, see May 30, 2011, article - Germany Votes to Dump Nuclear Power and May 27, 2011, article - Switzerland Calls Time on Nuclear Power.

The U.K. has plans to build up to eight new nuclear plants, to replace its ageing nuclear fleet.

"To date, no fundamental weaknesses in design and resilience have been identified at U.K. nuclear power plants, and lessons are being learnt from Fukushima to enhance safety, in line with our regulatory philosophy of continuous improvement," said John Donald, a senior nuclear safety inspector at the Office for Nuclear Regulation.

"Fukushima provided the world a unique opportunity to learn from a serious nuclear accident. No matter how high our standards of safety, the quest for improvement must never stop. Work is already under way to improve safety at U.K. sites, such as bolstering flood defences and enhancing coolant supplies. We have also asked licensees of U.K. nuclear power stations to consider resilience against events that have only remote chances of happening in the U.K."

The publication of the final report comes three months after a report compiled by Chief Nuclear Inspector, Mike Weightman, declared that the current U.K. fleet of nuclear plants had no safety weaknesses. For additional information, see October12, 2011, article - U.K. Nuclear Plants Get Clean Bill of Health.

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