Bradwell nuclear power station
| Bradwell nuclear power station | |
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 Bradwell Power Station |
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| Country | England |
| Location | Bradwell-on-Sea, Essex |
| Coordinates | 51°44′29″N 0°53′49″E / 51.74139°N 0.89694°ECoordinates: 51°44′29″N 0°53′49″E / 51.74139°N 0.89694°E |
| Status | Decommissioned |
| Construction began | 1957 |
| Commission date | 1962 |
| Decommission date | 2002 |
| Owner(s) | NDA |
| Operator(s) | Magnox South |
| Constructor(s) | Nuclear Power Plant Company (NPPC) |
| Reactor information | |
| Reactors decom. | 2 reactors 242 MW |
| Reactor type(s) | Magnox |
| Reactor supplier(s) | The Nuclear Power Group (TNPG) |
| Power station information | |
| Generation units | Parsons |
| Power generation information | |
| Net generation | 60000 (60 TW·h) |
| Website magnoxsouthsites.com |
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| As of 18 October 2010 | |
Bradwell nuclear power station is a disused Magnox power station located on the Dengie peninsula at the mouth of the River Blackwater, Essex.
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[edit] History
Construction of the power station, which was undertaken by a consortium involving Clarke Chapman, Head Wrightson, C. A. Parsons & Co., A. Reyrolle & Co., Strachan & Henshaw and Whessoe and known as the Nuclear Power Plant Company ('NPPC'),[1] began in December 1957 and electricity generation started in 1962. It had two Magnox reactors producing 242 megawatts (MW) net electrical in total.[2] On a typical day it could supply enough electricity to meet the needs of three towns the size of Chelmsford, Colchester and Southend put together. The reactors were supplied by The Nuclear Power Group ('TNPG') and the turbines by C. A. Parsons & Co.[3]
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Bradwell was built on the edge of a former World War II airfield, one and a half miles from the Essex coastline. Its location was deliberately chosen as the land had minimal agricultural value, offered easy access, was geologically sound and had an unlimited source of cooling water from the North Sea.
In 1999, it was announced that the station would cease operation in 2002 - the first UK station to be closed on a planned basis. On 28 March 2002 Lord Braybrooke , Lord Lieutenant of Essex unveiled a plaque to mark the closure of electricity generation and the beginning of the decommissioning stage.[4]
This is one of the sites being considered by British Energy for redevelopment in a new round of nuclear reactors.[5]
On 18 October 2010 the British government announced that Bradwell was one of the eight sites it considered suitable for future nuclear power stations.[6]
On 23 June 2011 the British government announced that Bradwell was one of eight sites to be opened as nuclear facilities by 2025.
[edit] Safety record
In 1966, twenty natural uranium fuel rods were stolen from Bradwell.[7] The rods were stolen by a worker, Harold Arthur Sneath for their scrap value. The theft was discovered by the local police, when the van transporting the rods to their final destination, driven by Dennis Patrick Hadley, was stopped due to its defective steering. The rods were recovered and in the subsequent court case Sneath and Hadley were bound over for five years, fined £100 each and were required to contribute to the costs of the court case. Neither were said to have understood the consequences of the theft.[8]
On 22 January 2011 a fire broke out in the decommissioning work as titanium rods were being broken up.[9]
[edit] References
- ^ The UK Magnox and AGR Power Station Projects
- ^ "Bradwell - Facts and figures". Magnox Ltd. http://www.magnoxsouthsites.com/about-us/our-sites/bradwell/facts-and-figures. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
- ^ Nuclear Power Plants in the UK - England
- ^ "Nuclear Power Plant Closes". BBC Online. 28 March 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1898254.stm.
- ^ "British Energy eyes nuclear sites". BBC Online. 27 November 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7115002.stm.
- ^ "Nuclear power: Eight sites identified for future plants". BBC News (BBC). 18 October 2010. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11564152. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
- ^ Amory B. Lovins & L. Hunter Lovins. Brittle Power. Brick House Publishing Company. p. 146. ISBN 0-931790-49-2. http://www.natcapsolutions.org/publications_files/BrittlePower/BrittlePower_Parts123.pdf.
- ^ "Uranium theft not sinister". Burnham on Crouch and Dengie Hundred Advertiser (Essex record office). February 1967.
- ^ "Bradwell nuclear power station hit by fire". BBC News. 21 January 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-12255014.
[edit] External links
- Map sources for Bradwell nuclear power station
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bradwell nuclear power station |
- British Nuclear Group
- UK operator fined £400,000 for 14-year radioactive leak
- The story of Bradwell Power Station
- Bradwell-on-Sea Power Station, Nuclear Engineering International wall chart, April 1957
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