Oldest commercial nuclear plant closed down early

[Khephra]

Oldest commercial nuclear plant closed down early
By Andrew Taylor, Utilities Correspondent
Published: June 30 2004 5:00 | Last Updated: June 30 2004 5:00

The world's oldest operating commercial nuclear power station has closed nine months earlier than planned because it can no longer "be justified commercially".

The closure of the Chapelcross plant in Dumfries leaves four of the original 11 Magnox power stations, developed in the 1950s, still running. State-owned British Nuclear Fuels, which took over the stations, plans to close the remaining Sizewell A, Dungeness A, Oldbury and Wylfa plants by 2010.

Greenpeace, however, called on the group to bring forward the closure of the other plants. It said: "Some time ago BNFL acknowledged all its Magnox stations are loss makers but continued to squander taxpayer money in keeping them open. BNFL has at least now openly conceded that the balance sheet doesn't add up for Chapelcross any more."

The Magnox stations, so called because the fuel canisters were made of a magnesium alloy, have long exceeded their original design life of 25 years. The first-generation British nuclear power stations were much smaller than later advanced gas-cooled reactors and pressurised water reactors built by British Energy, the privately owned generator in the process of being rescued by the government.

more................

http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1087373362657

[struggle4progress]

1. The truth about nuclear power: it really ain't cheap. eom

[daleo]

2. Yes, decommissioning expenses may well be enormous

n/t

[struggle4progress]

3. Financial problems for many even before decommissioning. eom

[daleo]

4. True, I didn't mean to imply that decommissioning was all of it

Just that I think the authorities are low balling these costs. Likely if they are high enough, the utilities will declare bankruptcy and the taxpayers will pick up the costs.

You see this happen with mines a lot too. For example, cleanup of the Yellowknife Giant gold mine is estimated to cost at least $200 million dollars, which will be picked up by taxpayers.

[struggle4progress]

5. Yes, a lot of costs like that get lowballed.

I didn't know about Yellowknife Giant. What's the cleanup issue, mercury? Any good link on this?

[daleo]

6. Arsenic is the main thing, I think

I believe it was used to leach gold out of the ore or something like that. Basically, the corporations bailed out once the gold was gone and left the public on the hook for the massive cleanup. A few years before that, there was also labour dispute, which caused the deaths of several miners. Gold can cause a lot of grief.

http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2004/02/04/giant_cleanup040204

"At the Giant Mine site, the concern is what to do with 237,000 tonnes of arsenic trioxide dust - a byproduct of more than 50 years of roasting and milling of arsenopyrite ore -which is stored underground.

"I can't think of another example anywhere in the world where there's so much arsenic dust stored at one location," says Bill Mitchell, manager of the Giant Mine Remediation Project. In mid-January, the public heard first-hand about management possibilities from the technical advisor firm SRK Consulting, during a public workshop in Yellowknife. An Independent Peer Review Panel, with nine of Canada's top scientists, risk assessment professionals, toxicologists and mine engineers, has examined the consultant's recommendations."

http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/pr/pub/pni/pni04_e.html

"The Giant Mine opened in 1948 using roasting technology and continues to operate as the last of its kind in Canada. There is no proven clean-up technology or plan for the huge volumes of arsenic trioxide stored underground within a few hundred metres of Great Slave Lake and the entire Mackenzie River watershed.

Clean-up costs have been estimated at $70-900 million for the arsenic. The Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development holds a $400,000 security bond on behalf of the Canadian public for the clean-up. The Faro mine opened in 1969 and closed again in 1998. The federal government holds $14 million in security for the estimated clean-up now put at over $100 million. The mine is creating acid mine drainage which, if left untreated, could affect fragile northern aquatic ecosystems for hundreds of years."

http://www.miningwatch.org/emcbc/news/giant_faro.htm

[struggle4progress]

7. Thanks for the info. Sounds nasty. Arsenic is a cumulative poison ...

and also a carcinogen.