PLANS are being put in place to import radioactive waste from decommissioned nuclear power stations to Somerset. Hinkley A owners Magnox have indicated they are looking to apply for permission to transport a number of skips containing intermediate radioactive waste from Dungeness, Sizewell and Oldbury, through Bridgwater to their site at Hinkley Point, for processing and long-term storage. For more than 50 years, radioactive waste has been transported along a designated route from Hinkley’s A and B station to the railway siding in Bridgwater. Hinkley C however, by design, is required to hold all radioactive waste on site, and in planning consent conditions it was agreed no waste would be transported to or from the site once it was operational. Magnox says this change would be a one-off to help them make use of existing storage at Hinkley A rather than building interim storage facilities at other sites. A Magnox spokesman said: “This move will minimise impacts on safety, the environment and cost. “Stores would not need to be built at Oldbury, Sizewell or Dungeness. “This will result in considerably less construction and demolition work across the Magnox sites, making significant savings for the taxpayer.”
This is the West Country 23rd April 2019 read more »
