New nukes
The UK government said it has started a prioritisation process to select a maximum of three nuclear reactor designs to proceed to the next stage of its Generic Design Assessment (GDA). The government said this next step will allow nuclear regulators to focus resources on the designs which are most capable of being licensed and operational within a 2016-2022 timeframe.
CNN 20th March 2008 more >>
AFX 20th March 2008 more >>
Minutes and slides of the 11th March British Energy Community Meeting at Sizewell Sports & Social Club.
British Energy 11th March 2008 more >>
THORP
THREE years to the month after being shutdown due to a serious leak of radioactive liquor, Thorp is finally up and running again. The Sellafield oxide reprocessing plant was gearing up for a re-start two months ago only for a vital piece of machinery to fail. Repairs have been made to an elevator which carries radioactive fuel from a feed pond to a cave for shearing. The metal elevator ropes had failed but site operators Sellafield Ltd said all the safety systems worked and none of the fuel pins were damaged.
Whitehaven News 19th March 2008 more >>
NDA
THE NDA was likened to a “car crash waiting to happen” by the MP chairing a hard-hitting Commons Select Committee. The Parliamentary committee had been called to interrogate the NDA over why it needed an extra £400 million in Treasury funding. This was a 10 per cent rise. NDA chief executive Ian Roxburgh was not present to take the flak and the MPs had to question Bill Roberts, the NDA’s Director of finance and resources; alongside Sir Brian Bender, BERR (Business and Enterprise Dept) Permanent Secretary; and Mark Clarke, BERR director general finance and strategy.
Whitehaven News 19th March 2008 more >>
Submarines
An army of ghost workers was created in a £500,000 scam by the boss of a company involved in a huge Ministry of Defence contract to upgrade a nuclear submarine facility. James McLaughlan, his stepdaughter and two others who benefited from the swindle are facing prison after convictions at the end of a three-month trial.
Times 21st March 2008 more >>
Disarmament
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament celebrates its fiftieth anniversary this year. It was founded during the Cold War when fear of nuclear weapons was at its height. Its founders believed that they would only need to campaign for a few years before they succeeded. Sadly, it was going to take quite a lot longer than that.
People and Planet 20th March 2008 more >>
