A government minister launched a £1bn nuclear facility near Chester employing about 100 people which will begin operating later this year. Andrew Stephenson MP spoke at the official event to mark completion of the Tails Management Facility (TMF) at Urenco’s Capenhurst site which employs about 900 in total . Urenco’s core business is enriching uranium for use in nuclear power stations around the world. The TMF will manage a low level radioactive but highly toxic byproduct from the process – depleted uranium hexafluoride – also known as ‘tails’ from Urenco’s plants at Capenhurst as well as in Holland and Germany. It will convert the tails into uranium oxide, which is stable and allows long-term storage for up to 100 years prior to either further enrichment or safe disposal of the residual uranium. The plant should have been ready back in 2015 for an estimated £400m but the project has experienced delays and cost pressures due to design changes.
Chester Live 10th June 2019 read more »
