N-Base Briefing 471


N-Base Briefing 471
15th October 2005
ISSN 1478-4661

Isolate shaft plan

The decommissioning of the controversial waste shaft at Dounreay is due to begin in earnest with the submission of a planning application to Highland Council.

The application seeks permission to drill between 350 and 400 80-metre deep boreholes around the 65 metre shaft. Specialist grout is to be pumped into the boreholes to seal off the shaft from the surrounding rock bed.

Dounreay deputy director Simon Middlemas said "the hydraulic isolation of the shaft is the first phase of one of the major nuclear decommissioning challenges in the world." The GBP16 million shaft isolation project will be carried out by Ritchies and work is expected to start next March.

Blair on nuclear

At his weekly media briefing on Tuesday UK Prime Minister Tony Blair was asked about his attitude towards nuclear energy and whether there was a hundred per cent guarantee the Government would stick with a decision to approve new reactors. This is the full text of his reply, that was interpreted in the media as committing future Labour leaders to any decision:

"Well we have to take the decision first of all as a matter of government policy, but the reason why it has got to go on the agenda, and I am not expressing a concluded view, this is something that it is right now to debate, is for the reasons you give - security of supply and global warming.

"That is why it has got to go on the agenda, and there will then be a debate about that, but it should be conducted with an open mind I hope by everybody, because as I have said to people over these past few months, the issue of energy policy is in my view going to start to come centre stage, not just in our own politics but in the politics of other similar countries, and that is for a very simple reason, you have the evidence of global warming that is there, and that is very strong now, I think too strong for anybody responsibly to ignore; and secondly, for a country like Britain, our present nuclear power, that is going to be phased out and over the next 10 - 15 years we have a very ambitious renewables target, very ambitious.

"And you know there are obviously issues there that we have got to address and get right, so that is what I am trying to do. I am not pre- empting the debate at all, but I do think it is responsible to start this debate and to have it in a very open way, and again we will take what decisions we think are right for the country. And I think you are right in saying that what the industry wants in the end is a decision and a framework, they don't want anything else from government, but we have got to take that decision and we will over the coming months."

Design fault

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has confirmed that a design fault has been found in the emergency cooling system of the Palo Verde reactor near Phoenix. The fault, which meant the emergency cooling system might not operate properly, has existed since the plant was built in the 1980s.

Nirex dump plans

The nuclear waste agency Nirex has published a series of reports it has prepared for the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM). The series of reports look at various legal, technical, transport and safety aspects of a nuclear waste dump. Among the suggestions from Nirex is the possibility of an 'engineered repository' under the seabed, but accessed from the land. Nirex says such a proposal would be acceptable under international law. Copies of the reports are available at www.nirex.co.uk/foi/corwm/index.htm

New nuclear ship

British Nuclear Group (BNG) has awarded Mitsui Engineering the contract to build a new INF3-class ship for its Pacific Nuclear Transport company fleet.

Live chat

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority is organising a live internet 'web chat' on Wednesday (19th October) starting at 4.30pm. Details at www/nda.gov.uk

Federal dump

The Australian federal government has published draft laws designed to overcome opposition to a national radioactive waste repository either near Alice springs or Katherine in the Northern Territory. Science minister Brendan Nelson announced the draft new law which will override all state and territorial rights, including Aboriginal rights, in deciding on the site of a nuclear dump.

Chernobyl conference

The UK and Irish Nuclear Free Local Authorities are organising a conference on 23rd March 2006 called 'Chernobyl 20 Years On'. The conference will be held in London. Details from c.frisby@manchester.gov.uk

Trecwn concerns

There continues to be concerns that the former underground armaments store at Trecwn in Pembrokeshire could be a possible site for the UK nuclear waste store. The owners has announced plans to link the site to the national railway network.